Delusions of Normalcy
by Arithion
Summary: If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix
1. Drum Us Up

Author: Arithion/Arithkenshin 

Email: arithkenshin@yahoo.co.uk

Title: Delusions of Normalcy

Rating: R

Warnings: Continuation, language, introspective mild Angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own them; I don't get any money from this… just a time-sink

Set: End of GW

Summary: "If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix." 

Notes: If you wish to Archive, please ask. Thanks to Sol for betaing and encouraging me to dust this one off. Thanks to Casey for reinforcing that. 

Delusions of Normalcy: Drum us Up 

Cheers of triumph echoed from the crowd outside. Five young men stood away from the windows, trying very hard to ignore the mass of people outside. Hands were nervously clasped, hair twirled and, in one case, a long rope of braid, chewed upon. Thoughtful looks bordering on apprehensive crossed each of their faces. 

Heralded by some as heroes, others saw the Gundam Pilots as terrorists, and others went farther, calling them cold-hearted murderers. It didn't seem to matter to the latter factions that without the five young men they were so cruelly judging, there would have never even been a chance at peace; for earth, or the colonies. 

For the five youths, this was the day of reckoning. This was the day they would find out exactly what their fight for freedom had won for themselves. Slightly bitter about the whole incident, it chafed at them that they could understand how some members of society could be so very scared of them. Yet they were just older than children, but they had never had a childhood, never had the chance to grow up like children should, never experienced the freedom of a 14 year old shooting his first goal in soccer and getting carried away on his team mates' shoulders. They had never been young. 

The authorities had to decide what to do with them. Would they be permitted to move amongst civilians like the normal people that they weren't? Would they be put into a detention centre for juvenile lawbreakers? They had, between them all, killed a few hundred thousand people, and destroyed billions of dollars of equipment. Blowing up a colony will do that…. 

They had been called to the state Preventer's building, in order to receive further instructions about what it was that they would be doing, about where it was that their lives would be going from now on. 

It _really_ chafed. 

"This is ridiculous! It's not like we can't take care of ourselves!" Quatre spoke quietly, a strange sheen in his eyes, something akin to fear, but not quite. 

"Naawww, Quatre. You assume too much. Don't ya know?" 

"Be serious for once in your life, Duo!" 

"Oh, but I am, Quatre. You don't know me well enough to make that claim. Can you seriously say that you are fit for being let back out into civilisation… around people who are no longer fighting a war?" 

The blond pilot blanched a little. "We are human beings, Duo. They can't take that away from us. Without us…" 

"Yes, without us _this_, without us _that_; without us and our gullibility Marshal Noventa would still be alive, a whole colony of people wouldn't have been evacuated and…Well, I am pretty sure that the officials are going to be sick and tired of hearing 'without us' if we don't watch ourselves." Duo's eyes were scanning what he could see of the gatherings outside the window, not seeing or perhaps refusing to see the hurt that briefly passed over two of his comrades' faces. 

"That is so like you, you---" 

Quatre's words were cut off by Wufei's interruption. 

"Maxwell is right." It seemed the admission was practically dragged from Wufei's throat, and Quatre blinked at the Chinese man. 

The green-eyed youth made a sudden move, an unexpected one that had the other four reaching for a concealed weapon of some kind. "See, point proven. We are not normal, Quatre. We do not have normal capabilities, training, reaction times or methods. And we were not authorised like normal people who kill in a war. We were rebels… and the fear in these people is the fear that we could perhaps take things into our own hands yet again." 

"Yeah, what happens when we get bored?" A smirk flitted across the American's face, full of mischief. "Just think of what we could get up to if they don't keep an eye on us. Hell, just think of how hard its going to be for them to keep us anywhere we don't want to be." That smirk turned into a grin… "This could end up being a hell of a lot of fun." 

An exasperated grunt came from Heero, who looked up through his messy hair, observing the violet-eyed youth. "And you would wonder why they would think these things. You and your big mouth are going to get us locked behind gundanium. " 

"Naaaa, Heero, that ain't going to happen. We're of too much use to them, and they know it… and you can be sure they'll use that." Duo was chuckling. "Who knows, maybe I'll even play along." 

"Can you never be serious, Maxwell?" Wufei's voice was exasperated as well. 

A smile crossed Duo's face. "Of course I can Wufei, but where is the fun in that?" 

"Get that stupid grin off your face. This is supposed to be a serious occasion for us. They'll think you're up to something." Heero turned, back tense, awaiting their summons into the conference room that had been locked for hours now. 

"Ahhh, Heero, but I am only serious when I kill. You don't want me to kill you now, do you?" Duo's voice had changed, low and seductively dangerous, almost hypnotic. On a stranger that tone would make them almost beg Duo to kill them. 

Back still turned to the longhaired man, Heero grunted a little. "At the moment, I do not think you realise how tempting that sounds…" 

Out of the four men standing behind Heero in shock, an almost evil grin spread over only one of their faces. 

#*# 

An officer in Preventer's uniform entered where they were waiting and beckoned them into the conference room. 

"Well, here we go, I guess. Ooooh, eerie, maybe I should be whistling the death march." And Duo pursed up his lips to start whistling, before Trowa smacked a hand over his mouth. 

"Don't be stupid, Duo. You have more brain cells than to antagonise so willingly." Trowa ignored Duo's responding glare as he continued. "Just wait until we know our fate, before you piss them off… okay?" 

A feral gleam in his eyes, Duo laughed. "Sure thing, Trowa. Great minds must think alike." 

What could be said to have been a slight smile passed over Trowa's face, as they entered the room. 

An unfamiliar man stood before the door once they had entered, and motioned them to sit. All but one of them remained standing, politely declining with a brief shake of their heads. Duo collapsed into the nearest chair and rested his feet on the table, his sharp gaze catching everything as he surveyed the room. 

"No, thanks," he said as he was looked at rather pointedly, and chose to interpret the look that he was receiving other than what it truly was. "No, really, I am perfectly comfortable, although I _am_ a little thirsty. Could you maybe? Oh great…" Leaning forward he procured himself a glass and proceeded to pour water into it. Taking a large gulp he licked his lips. "Oh, that is so much better! So," he said, stretching the sound out in a sarcastic manner. "Just why are we here?" 

Quatre was trying desperately not to laugh. He couldn't believe that Duo was being so brash, and while it let some of the tension leak out of his own body, Quatre could feel it rising in the rest of the room. 

Taking a slight step forward Trowa came to rest behind Duo, and laid a hand almost imperceptibly on the louder boys' shoulder. In that one touch, Trowa told his comrade to tone things down a little and stop being so over the top, at least until they had determined what their fates were going to be. 

Fighting the instinctive fighting response to the unexpected touch, Duo smiled and fell silent, grinning at the table of executioners. Duo wondered mildly if they would become the executionees. He almost laughed out loud, but remembered he had to keep his humour in check, at least for the time being. 

Lady Une was one of the people present, although a stressed frown creased her brow. Vaguely the pilots recalled having been told that she would be the director for this new 'peace keeping' force. 

The man that they did not know was the one to speak however. "Pilot 01, Gundam Wing Zero, Heero Yuy? "Heero did nothing to acknowledge his name other than a silent nod of his head, those blue depths unsettling in their intensity. The man cleared his throat. "Pilot 02, Gundam Deathscythe Hell, Duo Maxwell?" Raising a hand and waving at the man, Duo deliberately didn't hide the large yawn he was currently undertaking. But his eyes still never left the man, his gaze alert, assessing, dangerous. 

The list continued. "Pilot 03, Gundam Heavyarms, Trowa Barton?" Trowa shrugged, and spoke from his standpoint behind Duo. 

"If you need to give me a name, then that will suffice." 

Looking as if he had not expected any of the pilots to speak, the man gathered his wits and moved on. Duo noticed that his hands were shaking, and that grin started to play along Duo's lips again. 

"Pilot 04, Gundam Sandrock, Quatre Winner?" The blond followed Heero's example and simply nodded. Despite having annihilated a colony, standing in this room and being… scrutinised wasn't making Quatre feel comfortable. In fact, it was making him feel … anger. 

"Pilot 05, Gundam Altron, Wufei Chang?" 

Duo could hear it already, and shielded his ears. 

"Chang Wufei! Learn how to respect different cultures, thank you very much!" 

The man blanched and sat down, motioning to the white haired man that had until then not said a single word. He was in robes that Heero seemed to remember from ancient legal traditions on earth: a judge. A frown creased Heero's face. 

The man spoke, in a commanding, almost regal voice, with an accent that none of them could place. His diction excellent, it almost compelled them to listen to him. 

"Viewing each of your, shall we say, unique files, it has been decided that you are far too advanced to simply be placed in a school and with a foster family. The way that you have all lived your lives for the past year and a half would make any integration into a normal family far from possible. Each of you has rebellious features and destructive tendencies." The man shifted positions and cleared his throat after taking a gulp of water. 

"To put you in detention centres as war criminals would be dissatisfactory to those who support you. They would cause a commotion if they thought that you had been done away with, and to be honest, at this point in time, we could probably do without that. Apart from those facts, I do not think that we could successfully build a compound that would be capable of holding any or all of you for any protracted amounts of time." 

"This leaves us with the last option, which is probably less appealing for you, and yet for us it is the perfect solution that we have already decided to introduce in some stages." Duo could have sworn that the man's eyes flickered towards Une and the longhaired man's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. "Of course," the judge continued, "this is not an invitation. It is either this, or an alternative I have not yet wanted to formulate." 

Heero's patience had never been the best. "That would be?" 

A sigh escaped the man's lips. "You will be recruited to the Preventers. Just like any cadet you will be put through training. However in your cases, you will be given specific training to enhance your already enhanced abilities. You will be younger than those cadets that come to us, of which the average age is usually twenty. You have too much field experience and reflexes that would be dangerous to fellow pupils if we first insisted that you go back to high school and then college." 

His eyes narrowed and he leaned forwards. "You do not have a choice in this. It is the only way all factions will be happy. Those that adore you will see that you have given yourselves to helping further maintain the peace. Those that cry for your blood will be satisfied that you have a life of servitude. And we will get five agents, or at least temporary agents, straight away." 

"And how might we benefit?" Trowa wasn't sure that he liked the idea. 

"You are allowed to live, allowed to learn, allowed to follow the training that comes naturally to you, and above all, you will become qualified to such an extent that you will be very well taken care of all of the time." The man looked as if he was waiting for a response. 

Always willing to oblige, Duo spoke up. 

"No, no, old man. Frankly, considering that I could very easily take care of myself in some way shape or form, that is not enough reward for me…not nearly enough incentive to look forward to this life of 'servitude' as you so nicely put it. So it's not what _you_ are getting out of using us like an old dishcloth. What do _we_ get out of this?" 

Paling a little, the older man looked at the pilots in front of him. All five faces were drawn and had a slight edge to them. They didn't seem impressed. 

"You will have to attend the same classes as all other cadets. Naturally, considering your talents, there are some that you will be able to skip, due to the fact that you are to further your own skills instead of learning the basics. However there are also some, shall we say, _domestic_ classes that you will be required to take." He held up his hand to forestall the words he knew were forming on the American's tongue. "Now let me explain. You are all soldiers. You are in a somewhat more difficult situation than other people of your age." 

Duo suppressed a laugh that somehow came out like a loud snort and grinned up at the man, allowing him to continue. 

"As we have already stated, it would not be possible to integrate you into society as you are right now. Some of you have trigger reflexes that would end up with anyone disturbing you unexpectedly being placed in hospital. Then there are the violent tendencies and your analytical ability and tendency to observe every situation as hostile. We could go on about the reasons all day…" 

"But we do not have all day, so would you kindly get to the point?" Wufei was tapping his foot lightly, annoyance clearly showing on his face. 

"You will receive classes, and instruction, in how to go about a normal life style." 

There was silence as all five pilots considered what it was that was being said to them. 

"Normal." Heero was, as ever, suspicious. "Define normal. 

"Normal, as in being able to cook _real_ food. Normal, as in being able to go shopping without kneecapping the person who accidentally hits into your trolley from behind. Normal, as in being able to function eventually in day to day society." 

"I thought you said that we were in servitude…" Quatre's expression had a do-not-screw-with-me look to it. Considering his normal amiability, the coldness in his face was quite effective. 

"I said that it would please the factions which do not like you, to think that you are in servitude. Although everything possible will be done to have a general idea of your whereabouts at all stages, you will have the same freedoms as every other Preventer. You will have days off, you can visit family or friends; you can start to develop a life, which I am fairly sure none of you have properly had before." 

"And all we have to do for this is? Roll over and fetch?" Trowa's voice was dry, questioning, and suspicious. 

"You need to excel in your training. You need to prove wrong the people that did not want to give you this chance." 

"Well, that's all just fine and dandy! Nice to see you're in the same boat too, Une, old chum." He winked at her, ignoring her startled face. "So, if that's all…" 

The man leant back and regarded the five young men before him. "Your assignments will be sent to you by registered mail. You have two weeks in which to get the things you need together, at which time you will be expected to report to Preventers Headquarters to be briefed and given orientation." 

"Bet I know the place better than you do by the time I get here…" The grin on Duo's face was predatory, showing just how much he needed a challenge. It made the judge realise that it seemed they had been correct in their assessment of that youth at least. 

"You are all… accepting of the arrangements then I take it?" Four slight nods greeted him, and he looked at Duo, who was watching him thoughtfully. 

Standing up, Duo stretched. "Well, don't know about the others, but I'll play along like the good guy I am." He turned and began to walk towards the door, before pausing and turning back. "I don't know about the others in this situation either, but I get bored easy. Hyperactive nature, you know. I'll play, as long as I don't get bored." He paused, and grinned, his voice dropping to a caress. "You wouldn't like me when I'm bored." 

In the blink of an eye he was gone, followed almost imperceptibly by the rest of his comrades. The feeling left in the room was heavy. 

"Have we done the right thing?" 

"Of course we have. They will prove to be invaluable…" 

Une lowered her head. She hated young people being caught up in the crap Zechs, Sally and herself were already screwed in. She just hoped that the Gundam Pilots really could adapt, or else she was going to have to put them through hell. 

#*# 

"Can we stay here for the two weeks, Quatre?" Heero was standing in the rather small entranceway to the house they were currently in. 

"Well, we should be able to. It's a Winner Corporation House. It isn't quite finished, and therefore won't be put up for rent for another few weeks. I'll call to make sure, but it should be all right until we are due to move into the Preventers' Quarters." 

"Don't let us put you out, Winner." Wufei crossed his arms, waiting for Quatre to get off the telephone. 

Duo was the only one in the room when Quatre was phoning, having had no compunctions about walking into the lounge room and throwing himself on the couch. 

As Quatre put the receiver down, he shot Duo an almost unreadable look. It _could_ have been grateful, and as such, Duo chose to interpret it that way. 

"We can stay. The house has fifteen days on it before it gets opened for display, if you can put up with a little noise…" 

"Sure." Trowa walked into the living room, surveying it with a quick glance. "You own the Winner Corporation now, Quatre?" 

Quatre stepped in front of the window and glanced out before answering. "Technically, I guess." 

"Elaborate." Heero stood with his back to the wall and arms crossed, taking in everything, ready to move at a moment's notice. 

"Technically I am the heir, but there are other shareholders. There is a board of directors. It's not like I waltz in and take over. I'm sixteen. What do I actually know about running a Corporation? Theory is one thing. My father never got around to the practical side of things." 

Trowa nodded. "How does this arrangement sit with you then?" 

Quatre looked up at the green-eyed youth. "I don't know yet. I want to see what area I get 'assigned' to first. Once I know that, I think I will know better how to feel. At the moment I am still feeling a little aggravated that they seem to think that we need this type of decision made for us." 

"We are… different, Winner." Wufei's eyes wandered idly over the landscape outside the windows. "We would be a danger to normal people." 

"Would we really?" There was a hint of desperation in those blue-green eyes. "I had training. Maybe not as intense as you, but I would like to think that I still have some self control." 

Duo raised himself up on an elbow, looking over at Quatre lazily. "You do, Quatre. We all do. It's just that we have a little _too _much of it. We have heightened senses, probably didn't help that we used that freaking Zero system. These senses kind of make it dangerous for people who are not used to moving around people like us." 

"I know… I just guess I don't want to understand. Does that make sense?" The blond plopped himself on the armchair next to the couch. "I would like to think that we could just be normal like that!" He snapped his fingers. "But I don't think that's ever going to be possible, now." 

A grin crossed the American's face again. "Hell, Quatre, think of it like this. We just put in a hell of a lot of time and a hell of a lot of work, to save the world and all that jazz. Now we're going to get some training and some excitement out of whatever it is that the lovely people at the Preventers will have for us to do. We will get some semblance of normalcy into our lives…eventually, maybe, if we want to…I know that I for one, like myself the way I am." 

Trowa's face was thoughtful. "I guess we'll find out just what they have in store for us when we find out what we are all 'specialising' in." 

"Something about all this is just…peculiar." A frown marred the Chinese man's face. 

Heero was making his way up the stairs, bag slung over his shoulder. "This will take some getting used to. I grew up in this war." 

As the rest started to leave the room, Trowa muttered under his breath. "Now we just need to grow up the rest of the way…" 

#*# 

This story came about for several reasons, and because of questions I had about the reality of what would happen to the pilots after the Wars. I was hesitant about posting it, but several friends assured me of bodily harm if I didn't, so here it is. Feedback is greatly appreciated, as always. 

~Arith 


	2. String Us Out

Author: Arithion/Arithkenshin 

Email: arithkenshin@yahoo.co.uk

Title: Delusions of Normalcy

Rating: R

Warnings: Continuation, language, introspective mild Angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own them; I don't get any money from this… just a time-sink

Set: End of GW

Summary: "If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix."

Notes: If you wish to Archive, please ask. Thanks to Sol for betaing. /salute War Room

**Delusions of Normalcy: **

String us Out 

Early the next morning there was a knock at the door. Standing with a cup of strong coffee in his hands and gazing out the window thoughtfully, Duo realised he was probably the only one in the house in any state to go and answer the door, being fully dressed as he was. Frowning, he opened the door, and looked blankly at the express postman.

"Yes?" Duo's tone was barely polite, but then, Duo considered seven in the morning a crass time to be knocking on someone's door.

"Express delivery, sir!" A package was placed in Duo's spare hand and a clipboard shoved under his nose. "Sign here, please!"

"I may be a lot of things, but I do not have three arms." Duo placed his coffee cup on the table next to the door and signed the space allocated for him. Without a 'thank you' or even a 'have a nice day', he shut the door in the postman's face and turned to peruse the package in his hands, absently picking up his coffee on the way to the lounge room.

Seating himself on the couch, he sipped at the drink as he opened the package, noting mentally that someone else had just woken up and was moving around the house. If he was not mistaken, it was either Trowa or Heero. Their footsteps were always deliberate, but somehow in a different way to Wufei's and Quatre's, which were lighter and more staccato in nature.

Ahhh, Duo told himself, think of the devil.

"Morning, Quatre," Duo didn't even look up from rifling through the contents of the package as Quatre entered the room. What might unnerve normal people was only something that sought to relax the former Gundam Pilots. 

"Morning. Who was at the door?"

"Ahh, so you heard?"

"Obviously. Who was at the door?"

"You're the psychic, why don't you tell me?"

"Oh, just tell me, Duo. It's too early for me to keep up with you today!"

A chuckle escaped Duo's throat. "Postman… here. " And he threw Quatre a letter addressed to him.

"What is it?"

This time a slightly exasperated sigh escaped Duo. "Open it and find out Quatre, I haven't opened mine yet either, I've just read the sheet that tells us to give one envelope to each of us, and have been trying to juggle my coffee as well…"

"Oh."

Duo's eyes narrowed as he scanned his own letter.

_Mr. D. Maxwell _

_Due to the stresses involved and nature of your previous 'employment' we will need to ask you to our offices for a professional evaluation, in order to determine which level of training will best suit your special circumstances and current abilities. _

_Your presence is requested at _

_Preventers Headquarters _

_1 – 31 Peacewalk Haven _

_12th Floor, Room 1202 _

_at 1pm today _

_Sincerely _

_Dr Arden B. Mathews _

"Well, that's just fucking great. So what time do you have to be there?" Duo was, to say the very least, not impressed.

"Um, at three pm…guess we have a long day ahead of us, don't we?"

"Apparently so." An evil grin began to spread over Duo's face. "Hmm, methinks that some certain other ex-pilots also need to be woken up." Coffee cup on the small makeshift table, he vaulted over the back of the couch and headed into the downstairs bathroom, ignoring the fact that someone was obviously showering over head, and turned on the hot water, fully.

The result was a strangled cry, and a hurried exiting of the shower, revealing a dripping wet, towel clothed Trowa who was glaring over the railing at the violet-eyed teen below. Duo clutched at his stomach, laughing at the results.

A voice near his shoulder almost made him jump. "I am glad I had chosen to have a short shower. Your sense of humour does not seem to be wearing off now, that the war is over, Maxwell."

Still laughing Duo walked into the kitchen, putting yet another pot of coffee on the machine. "Heh, _Chang_, very funny. The war is over. Now I actually have a reason to have a sense of humour."

"You just had to get him started, didn't you?" Heero, came to rest next to Wufei, arms crossed and partial scowl on his face. "Why are you in such a good mood anyway?"

"Toss them their little invitations, Quatre! We should all know how undeniably lucky we all are."

"Invitations?" Trowa ducked into the bathroom, calling out behind him. "I'll be right down."

Another chuckle escaped Duo's throat. "You can give him his, Quatre. I don't want to be the one who disappoints him."

"Great, I get to do all of the dirty work." Quatre mumbled as he went to try and find the package from wherever Duo had let it fall.

"Really depends on how you define dirty, Quatre." The longhaired youth grabbed his coffee and stole out to the back yard, taking some time to unwind before facing the day.

#*#

"This is kind of stupid, really. I mean, we all had to be at least partially insane to be doing what we did during the wars anyway. Just how does this guy think that he is going to be able to psychoanalyse us, anyway?" Duo stopped babbling out loud and let his thoughts take his attention. It wasn't really making Duo jittery that they were going to see a 'shrink,' as he termed it. But it annoyed him that there was this apparent need to test and see if they were, well, fit to take on the roles that the Preventers had laid out as their only real viable option.

"Did your battery run out?"

Duo blinked. "Did someone clone Heero Yuy, add a touch of humanity, and forget to tell us?" His voice was joking, but the tone didn't quite make it that far, and the violet-eyed boy could see the slight frown cross the Japanese boys face. It almost made him feel a little guilty, but he stopped that train of thought right there and continued on. "Occasionally I do actually stop speaking of my own accord. You should know that, Heero. I mean, after all I do have that one little brain cell that reminds me that it can be used, and then – watch out! Because I can actually think!"

"I never implied that you could not." The answer was stiff.

"You didn't? Wow, could have fooled me, you must be a better actor than I thought, but anyway, I at least am glad that you are the first one into that room. I hate people analysing me. I'm hoping the guy is fucked in the head from trying to figure you out. That way he won't have energy left to concentrate on me."

Trowa chuckled. "Then I think that Wufei has the best chance here out of all of us. He goes in last."

A smile spread across Quatre's face. "I actually feel sorry for this poor guy. If only he knew…"

And although there was a brief sharing of smiles amongst all five of them, there was an underlying sense of 'he is so right' to it all. It was going to be very interesting, for all of them.

#*#

Heero was fidgeting. Well it probably didn't look like fidgeting to anyone else, but he knew that he was, so that was all that really counted. And it was pissing him off that he was fidgeting.

Another habit, he thought grimly, picked up from spending too much time around _other_ people.

"Are you comfortable, Mr. Yuy?"

"As comfortable as I will get, until I may leave this room."

The doctor looked a little taken aback, and took a drink of water before he continued. "Well, then, I guess we had best get the questioning underway then."

"Sounds like a plan." Blue eyes flashed a little, his impatience already setting in as the questioning began.

"How do you feel that the war has ended?" 

"A war is not fought to be there constantly. It is fought to achieve an aim; in this case the aim was peace. Therefore I am satisfied that the war has ended. Its objective was completed." Heero thought the question was a little superfluous as it was, but hey, it was the doctor's session. Let him ask what he wanted to. Allowing his awareness to drift, Heero simply answered the questions as they came to him, studying the room for any signs of surveillance. 

#*# 

As the Japanese youth stepped out of the office, he nodded at the others. Heero sat down in one of the chairs in the office, waiting for when the rest of them would be finished so they could all go home. 

"Well, Heero? Is it bad? What do I have to prepare myself for? Will I come out alive?" Duo was peering over at the dark-haired teen, and it was all that Heero could do to control himself and not throw Duo against the opposite wall for invading his personal space. 

"Depends on whether you can actually talk sense or not, Duo. I have yet to see this from you, but perhaps you will surprise us, and the good doctor." Heero went back to flipping through a magazine. 

Duo's mouth was doing a very good impression of a fish. "Wow, look at that, forty-five minutes with a therapist and the perfect Heero Yuy develops a sense of freaking humour. Gotta watch this guy, boys." His banter was briefly interrupted by the receptionist who motioned him in. "Ahhh, looks like I'm in for it now. Wish me luck." And he darted into the room, closing the door behind him. 

#*# 

Doctor Mathews watched the longhaired man closely as he walked into the room. Glancing down at his notes, he looked up to find startlingly violet eyes looking back at him, waiting. The grin spread over the face didn't quite reach the eyes. 

"What's up, Doc?" The young man laughed, and his eyes softened slightly. "Heh, I have always wanted to say that." Folding himself onto the couch, Duo looked through his bangs at the man sitting at the table. "Well, Doc, we don't have all day, you know. You have other appointments, so let's get this crap over and done with, shall we?" 

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "This crap, Mr. Maxwell?" 

Duo, shrugged. "Yeah, this crap, these questions, this interrogation." The tone of the youth's voice left the doctor with no doubt as to how literal the boy meant that last comment. 

"Well, then, I guess we'll begin." Shuffling papers the Doctor spoke. "How do you feel that the war has ended?" 

"Kinda bored, don't ya know? I was born, raised, and bred in war. Trained too, I guess. Never really thought what it was going to be like if there was ever no war anymore. Not really sure what to do with myself now, but hey, I guess the Preventers are going to find something for us to do, don't you? Hmmm yep… so… next question, I guess. You do have a time table to keep to all the same, don't you?" Duo's brain was bantering out the answers, trying to figure out just what it was that the government hoped to garner from these interviews. He was trying to decide if it was too dangerous to be himself. 

#*# 

"And thanks for all your wonderfully stimulating conversation, Doc, old pal! Guess I'll be seeing you around!" Duo closed the door behind him, turning to see the alternately flat or curious gazes directed to him by his teammates in the waiting room. "What? It wasn't that bad. It was just boring and invasive as hell, but he's a shrink, what do you expect?" Duo heard the receptionist laughing and trying to stifle it, and a grin passed over his own face as he sat down next to Heero. 

He plucked the magazine out of Heero's hands, and received a glare for the action. 

"Give that back, Duo." 

"Nope, I don't think I will. I'm bored and we have another three hours to sit here and while away the time, so I thought you could talk to me." The magazine was held successfully out of Heero's way. Resigned to his fate, Heero sat back and crossed his arms, eyes not leaving Duo's face. 

"I don't have a choice in this?" 

Heero hadn't asked a question, but Duo treated it as such. "No, old chap, I would say you don't." 

A slight look of suffering crossed Heero's face, as he settled down to switch his brain off a little, partially listening to Duo, and partially trying to figure out the current situation in his life. Trowa was beckoned into the room, and Duo launched into a rather animated discussion. 

"So, Heero, just what do you think we're all going to get stuck doing in this place?" Sadly for Heero, the lack of response didn't put him off…" Yeah…I guess…" 

Trowa smiled briefly as he closed the door behind him, shutting out the noise that was Duo. 

#*# 

Nodding to the Doctor, Trowa sat himself down. It wasn't that he was a silent person. He just didn't feel the need to waste words when it seriously wasn't needed. The doctor, looked up a little perturbed, not used to having someone not even greet him verbally. 

"Mr. Barton?" 

Trowa nodded, assuming the nod would be sufficient. 

"Have you always responded without words Mr. Barton, or is this a direct result of the war?" 

The youth couldn't help it. He laughed. 

A bit disgruntled, the doctor tried again. "I fail to see how this is funny, Mr. Barton." 

Those green eyes narrowed. "And I fail to see how this is necessary. However, if you persist in insisting that it is required for me to speak a simple greeting, rather than simply and respectfully inclining my head, then I do so. Good day to you, Doctor Mathews. How are you this fine morning?" Pausing for a second, Trowa observed the Doctor, taking in his reaction. "Is that satisfactory, Doctor? I am sure that I could probably adapt something else to your needs, but I may need a few moments in order to do so, if that is what you would prefer." 

A little startled, the doctor began shuffling through his notes. "Um, no, I do believe that we can carry on from here." 

"Oh, that is delightful to know." Trowa just knew his good mood was gone for the day. The least the doctor could do for ruining his mood was provide Trowa with a source of less intelligence to gloat over. From what he had seen, Trowa did not think that finding mirth in the doctors' lack of knowledge was going to be hard. 

"How do you feel now that the war has ended?" 

"Relieved, and suspicious. Relieved that the fighting will stop and maybe people can actually live in peace, and suspicious that perhaps this is all an illusion and perhaps the situation is not really all it seems to be." Trowa wished he knew what the ulterior motives were behind all of the questioning. For some reason it didn't just seem to be that they were going to be trained, that they would be fit enough to be trained. He had an ominous feeling that they were about to be used…again. 

#*# 

Quatre was feeling a little…nervous. No, that wasn't it. Perhaps a little frustrated and apprehensive about the whole situation. His empathic ability was screaming at him that something was not quite right, but since he couldn't quite put his finger on it, he wasn't entirely sure just what it was. Though he did have to occasionally smile as Duo's incessant banter filled the room. The suffering Heero made appropriate noises in the right places, although obviously not quite paying full attention to Duo. 

Privately, Quatre thought that Wufei had brought those earplugs with him deliberately. Though he had been discreet about their use, he probably hadn't wanted to cause a scene in telling Duo to shut up. 

Trowa had just exited the Doctors room, and Quatre's tension grew. 

"Hey, Trowa," Duo called out. "How did it go?" 

The taller teen shrugged. "Not too sure. He didn't like that I didn't verbally greet him, but I think I explained that well enough." 

Duo chuckled and glanced over at the blonde. "Hey, Quatre. It's not that bad, seriously. Just go in, and be yourself. No one can help but think you're great. Hell, you even won the Maguanacs to your side. Don't forget that." 

Flashing a grateful smile at Duo, Quatre answered his summons. He closed the door behind him, and blocked out the fact that Duo had just begun to drag poor Trowa into a conversation with him, momentarily relieving Heero of that obligation. 

#*# 

Taking a deep breath, Quatre turned around and smiled a shy smile at the doctor. "Hello, Dr. Mathews. I'm Quatre Winner." 

The doctor stood and took the proffered hand, observing the obviously well bred youth in front of him. Of course he knew the Winner name, and had known that one of the pilots was a Winner, but it was still amazing to see that it was all actually true. "Hello, Quatre. I hope you won't mind answering some questions for me?" 

The deceptively innocent eyes narrowed slightly as the blonde's strategist part pushed to the fore. "Of course not, Doctor. However, I have to confess it might depend on the questions, I will still try to see how I can help you." Sitting down carefully, Quatre's brain didn't miss a beat. He would answer truthfully, all the while trying to figure out the real reasons behind the questions. For some reason the blonde couldn't simply accept the fact that they were being 'given' such a chance, there had to be a catch. There just had to be. 

The doctor seemed relieved. "Well, let's see." And again, he shuffled through the papers, ignorant of the scrutiny he was receiving from the blond on the couch in front of him. "How do you feel now that the war has ended?" 

Quatre sighed. He was pretty sure he could handle this. "Relieved, almost peaceful…It's a weight off my chest…" 

#*# 

As the blond stepped out of the office, he glanced over the room to see Wufei still oblivious to everything behind his earplugs, and the other three actually all embroiled in a discussion.

"I don't know what the living arrangements will be Heero." 

"You're the one that made the smart comment in the judgment about knowing the place better than them by the time we moved in." Heero scowled at Duo. 

"Oh hell, it's been what, a day since then. Give me a break. No war, there should be no rush." 

"Rush is all relative, Duo. But you do have a point." Trowa looked at Heero. "Just what is bothering you about this, Heero?" 

Heero looked a little confused. "It's all so unplanned!" 

Quatre bit back a chuckle. "Of course it is, Heero. This is a government organization after all." 

"I just like knowing what I am going into ahead of time. I need to know…" 

"How many escape routes there are? Just what type of security systems they have?" Trowa looked at the Japanese boy knowingly. "I know exactly how you feel, Heero." 

Duo smirked. "I would admit that too, if I didn't think it was a scary thought, so I'll just pretend I don't." Looking at the receptionist, Duo noticed that she had called Wufei at least three times, and was starting to get a little embarrassed. Not one to let a lady be embarrassed, Duo stood and walked to stand in front of Wufei who was still engrossed in the reading material in front of his nose. 

"Chang! Time. For. You. To. See. The. Doctor." 

Calmly Wufei reached up and removed one of the earplugs. "There is really no need to yell, Maxwell, I can hear quite well." Placing his book on the chair he had occupied, Wufei made his way over to the door. 

The American was spluttering. "He had… earplugs! That is so unfair. And I thought he was being nice to me for once by not telling me to shut up! Of all the…" 

But Wufei didn't hear anymore. He closed the door behind him with a grim look on his face and turned to face the doctor, assessing if he should show the man some respect or not. 

#*# 

Deciding that a brief nod would suffice, Wufei made his way to the couch and sat down, looking at the doctor. "If you don't mind, I would like to start as soon as possible and perhaps get this out of the way before my teammates drive your receptionist crazy. I have been waiting for 4 hours, and am not in the best mood myself." 

"Team mates?" The doctor was intrigued by the word choice. "Not friends?" 

Wufei shrugged. "I do not know them sufficiently well enough to classify them as friends. Comrades, perhaps?" 

"Do you all think of each other that way?" 

Wufei took a breath, and taking in the way the man's body language came across, he decided that he didn't like the man who was analyzing them. "I'm not sure. Perhaps you should have thought to ask them these questions when they were in here. As it is, I would prefer to continue with this interrogation." 

Blanching a little, the Doctor found the sheet he had for Chang, Wufei and cleared his throat. "How do you feel now that the war has ended?" 

"Satisfied that justice has been served." Wufei settled back in the couch, arms crossed. He was pretty sure that he wasn't going to like where this game was leading. 

#*# 

As Wufei left the room, the doctor leaned over to his phone and dialed a number. "Lady Une, I have just finished with the interviews. It would be a good time to have you and Mr. Gray come over, and peruse the documents for what we need." 

"We shall be there in half an hour." 

Sitting back, the Doctor sighed. None of those young men were normal. He just hoped that none of them ever turned on him in anger.

#*# 

Wufei stepped out of the room quietly, his ears picking up the sound of the doctor moving. Holding a finger to his lips, Wufei motioned for the others to be quiet. Listening carefully, he nodded once, and then moved away from the doors, motioning that the others follow him. 

In a low voice, he spoke to the other four ex-pilots as they walked to the parking lot. "Not everything is as it seems," Wufei told them. "We should talk when we get to the house." 

So as not to be too conspicuous, Duo began talking about absolutely nothing again, though his expression belied the carefree voice he was using. There was just too much to think about right then. 

#*# 

Lady Une swept into his office, causing Dr Mathews to look up, a startled expression on his face. "Well met, Arden. I trust you came away from the interviews unscathed?" 

"Oh, ahh, yes I did. Though they are young they have quite formidable countenances, do they not?" 

The white-haired judge, from the day before, closed the door behind him, and made his way over to lean on the mantle in the office. "That is the entire point of this exercise, Arden. These boys will play key roles in maintaining the peace. Although the acquisition of the skills that they have may be a little suspect, they are vital to our continued efforts, especially given the factions that still exist." 

"Yes, Malcolm. We know these things. Let's get down to seeing exactly where it is that we can slot the boys. They are due to be here in thirteen days, and I for one need to prepare certain things for their reception." 

Hazel eyes surveyed the woman. "Do not forget _your_ place, Une." 

"How could I, when you remind me of it on a daily basis." 

As usual, her tone was cutting, just to the right degree. Malcolm got the feeling once again that there would never be a way they could hold her against her will. If at any stage she did not like what was going on, he was fairly certain she would be gone without a trace. 

And the thing was, he thought, it was the same with the Gundam Pilots. If they did not like what was being offered, they too would leave, and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop them. He just had to pretend he could. It was a thin and difficult line to tread. 

"So what do we have?" As always Une's approach was brusque and efficient. Malcolm let himself relax as he leant back to watch the woman work. There were reasons they had recruited her. 

"Hmmm, where to start? Pilot 01 seems logical." Rifling through his papers, the doctor pulled a sheet out. "Heero Yuy?" 

"Yes. His specialties are sabotage, destructive weapons, computers, and espionage and to be honest, probably following orders that do not conflict with his instilled training. What are your views, Doctor? Will we be able to use him for any - or all of these - still?" 

"It is a little sketchy. Mainly, I asked questions which would lead indicate if they are against killing anymore." 

_How do you feel about the people that you killed? _

_I do not like to kill, and I hope to never have to again. I regret that people lost their lives, and further regret that innocents were sometimes caught in the crossfire. But it is sadly a necessary cost of war. And having obtained peace I would have to say that it was an indispensable sacrifice._

"In Heero's case, I would say that he could complete any task you set him, as long as he has other options than killing. It seems he has been killing for a very long time and has grown a little weary of it." The doctor took a breath, and looked at Une. 

She frowned a little. "Heero Yuy is an amazing marksman, but if he has no will to kill, then that is no position for him. However, in certain cases an expert in sabotage will be required. Provided his parameters allow for as little life loss as possible, I think it should be ok." She looked at her own notes. "So we need to expand, maintain and improve his training in sabotage, and perhaps his hacking abilities. His espionage abilities need no work. He has no rival when it comes to those… but perhaps we should concentrate on him at least maintaining the high standard that he has. Those always come in useful and he managed to trick a lot of people, a lot of the time." She nodded to Arden, indicating that she was ready to go onto the next subject. 

"Pilot 02…" 

Une cut him off. "We leave Duo until last. He's a little … complicated." 

"What difference does it make if he is decided now or later?" Malcolm thought it was a stupid differentiation to make. 

"I will not decide a fate like that in a hurry. Leave me to do my job. You know I will do it well." Her glare silenced him, but didn't stop him from wondering. 

"Pilot 03, then. Trowa Barton, who I might add, is rather insolent." 

Une raised an eyebrow. "Trowa? Insolent? You must have offended him. That boy is one of the most concise, well-spoken people I have ever met. He never does anything without thinking it through, except in rare circumstances. I always got the feeling he was older than the others." 

The doctor blinked a little. "Well, yes…I…" 

Dismissing the rest of what he was saying with the wave of her hand, Une glanced at her notes. "Trowa's specialties have always included an amazing ability to analyze a situation and get exactly which he needs from it. He also is a destructive weapons expert, and I know first hand that his ability to infiltrate is excellent. Will he be suited? Can he still kill?" 

"He calls himself a pragmatist… you be the judge." The doctor read Trowa's response out loud. 

_How do you feel about the people that you killed? _

_I am saddened that they had to die, but am content that we now have peace. Does this make me a barbarian? I think not… it makes me a pragmatist… There are too few of us nowadays._

"I would say this boy could easily still kill," the doctor concluded. "If given enough reason to do so, a valid enough reason, that is." 

Frowning, Une scanned her forms again. "Well, that's at least some relief. He will be fine for undercover work then. I need him. On top of that I would say that we could use him on project analyses." 

Malcolm nodded. "Sounds good from here." 

She motioned that they move onto the next pilot. 

"Pilot 04, "The doctor began. "He is probably the one that made the most impression on me. That boy has a gift that should be trained." 

"Yes, I am fully aware of this. He has talents that would help us a lot in certain situations. How are his sensibilities? Will he be able to deal with situations that could prove to result in loss of life?" 

"I think so, as long as he isn't doing the killing himself." 

_How do you feel about the people that you killed? _

_I just wish I hadn't had to. I wish I could turn back the clock and give back those lives… but I can't change the past_. _I refuse to let it dictate my future. _

"Apart from that, he seemed to be fine with the fact that the war had to be fought, because we needed peace. He is not as naive as he first appears and I got the distinct feeling that he was keeping something from me. But he did it in such a way that I have no idea what it could be." 

Une let her gaze rest on the doctor for a moment, almost making him squirm. "Yes, well…We'll probably find out, eventually. But I get the feeling that what Quatre Winner doesn't want you to know, you will not find out until he wants you to. We will need to train his empathic abilities. Are these options open to us, Arden?" 

"We should be able to accommodate that. Might take me a week or two to arrange it, but I can do it." 

"Then do it. We need him for diplomatic and hostage negotiations. His empathic ability is going to be invaluable in those situations. Now move on to Chang. I do not have all night to spend doing this. There are other things that require my attention." Une glanced at the doctor to make sure he understood before she proceeded. "I need Chang to be a part of the Centre's staff, at least eventually. His ability to face opponent in hand-to-hand combat is uncanny, as well as his experience with placing explosive devices without detection. I need to know if he first would have any compunctions killing, and second if his temperament will allow him to teach effectively without killing his pupils due to his impatience." 

"I am not too sure about his patience, Lady, but his ability to kill should not have been hampered as long as it is sought for a just reason." 

_How do you feel about the people that you killed? _

_They died to see justice bear fruition. They died for a good cause. Though it is regrettable that some innocents suffered, it was a war… death happens. _

"Considering his strong need for a sense of purpose, I would also say that training would be something he could actually see himself doing, and something he could take pride in." The doctor placed his notes down, watching the woman in front of him as she perused her notes. 

"Good. That's it, then. He will be trained to teach hand to hand combat, since we have no one who is decent and he will also receive instruction that will either further progress his demolitions capabilities or else will find out that he does not need to have those capabilities furthered." Writing something down, she picked up another piece of paper and looked at the doctor over her glasses. "Now we come to Duo Maxwell." 

"That man is not quite sane." 

"Yes, we know this, we actually are acutely aware that all of them have slight hang ups, and Duo's are no worse than the others. It's just that his are more obvious. Will he be able to kill? Out of all of them, for Duo, this is amazingly important." 

"Quite definitely, Lady. He feels no remorse. It's … quite unsettling. 

_Do you feel the war could have been carried out with less cost of life? If so, how? If so, how could that have been achieved? _

Sure it could have…but it wasn't, so why bother about what ifs? Live in the now, I always say… Never know when the end will come

_How do you feel about the people that you killed? _

_It's war. In wars you kill or be killed. I feel nothing about it. We got what we set out to achieve. _

"His view is almost…" The doctor searched for the right words to explain it. "As though everyone dies in the end, so it doesn't make a difference if he does it or not." 

"Excellent, Arden. That is exactly what I needed. Thank you for your time." 

Standing to leave, Arden was a little puzzled. Nonetheless, he was rather glad the meeting with the two high-ranking Preventers was finally over. 

#*# 

On the way back to their offices, Malcolm Gray ventured to interrupt Une's train of thought. "You think he will be able to do what you've picked for him?" 

"Of course he will. His specialties will technically be infiltration and hacking, and will probably have to work with Yuy a fair bit, but they are used to that. His other abilities will definitely suffice for what it is we need him for. And he is the only one out of the five that I think can successfully pull it off." 

#*# 

Standing in the makeshift living room, Duo put his hands on his hips, violet eyes flashing a little. "Okay, Chang, spill it." 

Calmly, Wufei raised an eyebrow at the American. "The doctor has now called Lady Une and Mr. Gray, who I can only surmise is that man who gave us our 'verdict' yesterday as to our futures." He shrugged and took his book with him, over to a chair, and sat down. 

"No, you don't, Chang. You know, or are thinking something. Talk to us." Heero had the book in his hand and was glaring down at the seated Chinese youth. 

"Oh, fine, Yuy! Talk about what?" 

"Whatever is going through that damn brain of yours!" 

"The doctor just seemed to think it strange that I called you all teammates instead of _friends_." Grabbing for his book, Wufei glared at Heero when he didn't get it back. "Can I have my book _now_?" 

"No," but it was Quatre who spoke. "Are we friends?" 

Four sets of eyes turned to look at the blond. 

Duo rubbed his nose uncomfortably. "Gee, I'm not sure. Comrades definitely, but, none of you really know me well enough to call me a friend. Though I kinda trust and have trusted you with my life so…" 

"Exactly what I said, Maxwell. I said we were comrades. Now give me---" 

"Can it, Wufei!" Quatre's fingers were clenched. Taking a deep breath, he continued to speak. "Now, I don't know about you, but I have been through hell and back with you four, and I feel a sense of friendship for you. Perhaps not quite the best friends I have ever or will ever have, but it's a connection. We better figure out damn fast what it is we are, mean to each other, and how we stand with each other, or else they are going to eat us alive. One thing is for certain. Whatever we are, we need to trust each other like we have before, because I for one do _not_ like the feeling this whole thing is giving me." 

Trowa blinked. "Feeling, Quatre? It's giving you a feeling?" Everyone was paying attention, because Quatre's feelings were usually fairly informative. 

Quatre sighed. "Yeah, a feeling. It… none of it feels like the way things should have been after we worked our butts off to help win this stupid war. It's like… I feel like we're being used all over again, and I don't like it." 

"That settles it, then." 

They all looked at Heero. 

"I am not very experienced with…friendship, but I do realize you are my allies, my comrades and people I have trusted with my life, and other's lives, before. I will continue to trust you, and see where this all takes us." 

Duo almost bounced with glee. "Wow, Heero _is_ starting to grow a personality. Maybe there's hope for Chang yet!" 

Wufei scowled at Duo's parting shot, and wrestled the book back from Heero. He sat down to read, glaring one last time at the Japanese boy. 

Glancing at his watch, Duo wandered over to the kitchen and fished around in the freezer. Duo took a while to figure the oven out. Giving a small cry of triumph, he pushed the two frozen pizzas into the oven, after making sure the plastic was removed. He had made that mistake before. 

Duo returned to the living room. 

"Soooo, we kind of have a truce between us then?" 

"It appears so." Trowa looked thoughtful. 

"Excellent! Pizza for dinner, guys. And yes, this time I took the plastic off. We won't have extra flavour." 

~~**~~ 

Wellllll there you go. Second chapter! Third will be out relatively soon… so sorry about the delay on this one. 

Hope it doesn't disappoint! 

~Arith 


	3. Hamstrung

Author: Arithion/Arithkenshin 

Email: arithkenshin@yahoo.co.uk

Title: Delusions of Normalcy

Rating: R

Warnings: Continuation, language, introspective mild Angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own them; I don't get any money from this… just a time-sink

Set: End of GW

Summary: "If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix." 

Notes: If you wish to Archive, please ask. Thanks to Sol for betaing. /salute War Room

I'd really like to thank all the people who responded to the last chapter. Gave me the guts to slog through this chapter and make the minute changes I needed to… for future fluidity. Delusions of Normalcy 

Hamstrung 

It was early. Duo sighed as he rolled over in bed, and gave up on going back to sleep. Rolling himself out of bed completely, he dropped silently to his knees. He grabbed his usual garb, felt that the material was getting a little thin with age, and realised that he would have to replace his three outfits in a little while. It was sad, because they had been through so much with him.

Making his way silently downstairs, he made himself the cup of tea that he would never let anyone know that he drank, and made his way out to the dew drenched backyard. Looking around, he found a perfect spot to sit in, just below the only excuse for a tree that was in the partially landscaped back yard. He knew that the guys working on the house wouldn't be there until about eight am, so he had around two and a half hours, though less time before the household started waking up.

Putting his mug out of reach, he settled himself on the grass, legs pressed to either side of him, and began running through his breathing and control excercises, heightening his senses. It made him aware of almost everything. After some time had passed, he felt relatively warmed up and moved, beginning to stretch. As he hadn't done so for at least a week, he was feeling a little stiff, but he would fix that soon.

#*#

Wufei woke a little earlier than usual and got out of bed. Glancing out of the window he thought he saw something strange but dismissed it, considering how cluttered the backyard was due to the construction still being undertaken on the other half of the house. After getting dressed he headed downstairs, feeling desperately like a mug of tea to start his day off.

When he got to the kitchen he picked up the kettle and frowned. It was already warm, and as he looked over, he realised that the coffee pot was brewing merrily. Frowning, he wondered who had woken up before him, as he had come through the living room and noticed that Maxwell was not there, he thought the American might be sleeping in for once. Still frowning, Wufei made his way out to the living room and walked to the window to look out, sipping the cup of tea he had made as he did so. His eyes scanned the yard, and he did a double take, rubbing at his eyes before looking out again.

#*#

Someone was awake. Duo knew it. Breaking the position he was currently holding, he picked up his mug, and made his way back to the house. Pushing passed Wufei, he entered the house. "Morning, Chang. Nice to see someone else up before the day is old."

Wufei was curious, he hadn't had a good enough look. "What were you doing out there Maxwell?"

"Me? Why, whatever do you mean?" Duo feigned innocence. He was hoping to get into the kitchen, and rinse out his mug, before the Chinese man's attention shifted and realised that Duo had been drinking tea instead of coffee. It was just something that Wufei would notice.

"Out there… what were you doing? You weren't sitting, at least…" His voice tapered off, as he tried to think exactly what it was that he had seen. It just didn't seem to fit the American.

"Oh that?" Duo grinned. "Why didn't you say_ that_? I was practicing sleeping with my eyes open!" With a laugh Duo walked into the kitchen, successfully hiding the fact that he had just drunk tea, and leaving a rather perturbed Wufei behind him.

#*#

Wufei had counted. It was the 37th position that Duo had switched to in the last hour and a half. The Chinese man felt like he was going insane, and was just glad that he could feel the household stirring around him. If he wasn't mistaken, the Japanese youth had been awake for a while, but was only just making his way downstairs.

White t-shirt, tucked into blue jeans, Heero felt decidedly uncomfortable. Nodding his head as he walked though the main room, he absently greeted the two occupants before heading into the kitchen to get himself a drink of water.

Duo, noticing the next member of the household to venture out of bed, rolled off the couch and followed him. "So Heero, how'd you sleep? I know I…"

Someone was at the door again, and Duo's focus changed. "Oooo, I'll get that shall I?" And he headed quickly for the door. 

Trowa was standing at the base of the stairs, nodded to Wufei on the couch, and Heero who was leaning against the kitchen doorframe. "New meaning to saved by the bell, really."

Heero's eyes were piercing, before he let out a tight-lipped smile. "You sure you were a mercenary before you became a pilot, Trowa?"

"Careful Heero, Duo might be proven right if you keep that up." A small smile tugged at both their lips, when the object of discussion entered the living room, holding a package in his left hand.

Ripping it open, Duo barely glanced at the letter, mumbling out loud what it said. "Please distribute these letters amongst your comrades. Assignments are attached."

"Well, guess we find out just what we're allowed to do with our lives now, don't we?" Not expecting an answer to his rhetorical question, Duo idly handed out the letters, opening his, and holding Quatre's out over the stair banister waiting for the few seconds it took before Quatre was down far enough to take it out of his hands. "Morning, Quatre." he murmured absently, a slight frown creasing his face as he read.

_Mr D. Maxwell _

_Please find attached the details for your enrolment in the Preventers. This will include the classes that you will be required to attend for normal, fieldwork agent training, as well as your personal schedule, and your living arrangements. You will be required to attend a meeting with myself and Mr Malcolm Gray in 12 days from the above date, in room 1403, on the fourteenth floor of the Preventer Headquarters with your fellow comrades. _

_Please note that your special classes will include, but not be limited to: Computer intelligence systems, Infiltration and Networking. _

_There will also be a briefing that you will have to attend. After the gathering with your comrades, please make sure that they will take care of any belongings that you bring with you whilst you are required at this briefing. _

_Each student is permitted to have outside contact, holidays and weekends away, as long as permission is first sought from the head of the school and institute. Please note that we are also aware that your skills may outstrip many of the current students, however due to your special circumstances you are required to go through the training and gain yourself qualifications. Please do your best not to cause undue unrest, as you will have to be dealt with the way all students would be. _

_Thank you for your time and we look forward to welcoming you in twelve days' time. _

_Lady Une _

_Director _

Duo glared at his piece of paper after having read it a second time and realising that there was no way that the words were going to change. He chanced a look up at his comrades to see what their reactions to their letters were. And he could safely say that each of them had a scowl on their faces. Including Quatre.

"Well, bet you I take the cake!" Something had to break the ice. Duo figured it may as well be him, as usual.

"How so?" Quatre looked like he was trying to contain his temper.

"I have to make sure that you guys can take care of my stuff and moving me in, before we go, because I get to go to a second 'audience' with the lovely people… _after _we have already been 'briefed'."

"Why?" Heero crossed his arms again, obviously not caring if he squashed the paper he was holding.

"I don't know Heero, they'll tell me when I get there. And since we're stuck with this crap and I want a decent room, I'm going to put that there laptop we have to good use, and freaking find out where we're going to be staying. Need to stay in shape now don't we… or at least my, how did they put it? Ahhh yes," he glanced back down at what was written in his letter, "my ability with computer intelligence systems." He snorted. "I think I'll just stick to hacker… it sounds so much more poetic."

Heero looked at him and nodded. "Considering I apparently need to keep the same thing in practice, I'll help you."

#*#

No one was impressed. The information that Duo and Heero had managed to garner information about the complex, the way the type of university was run, and what was entailed. Reading it left none of them in a good mood. They were all getting ready to leave for the college, each of them trying to think of something else they could do to get out of it. Apart from just fleeing, none of them could think of anything. Frankly after almost eighteen months on the run, no one really felt like running again.

#*#

The face grinned back at him, violet eyes shining with something other than mirth. There was a sense of finality in his eyes. Perhaps it was about the triumph, perhaps about something else, but then no one would ever really know. Something else was in those eyes as well though, a tinge of resolve, contained barely by a trace of sadness. The latter disappeared so fast; one would think it their imagination. 

Sixteen days ago the wars had ended, sixteen days ago the Gundam Pilots had lost their purpose, and twelve days ago five youths had been given the chance to gain their reprieve, and change their bloodthirsty destiny. There were options opened to them by the government, who was reluctant to turn the hero's of the war over to juvenile detention; who knew that there was a lot to thank the Gundam pilots for. Options opened that would have otherwise been closed to five seventeen year old boys. Though seventeen years in, their minds were a different story. Any government that does not use those resources that are open to them, is a government begging to be destroyed.

"Tools." The word dripped from the mouth looking at him, a sneer spread itself over the usual countenance. "We'll see." Idly he reached down to his pocket and pulled out a printout that he had not deigned to show anyone. He knew what was in store for him, and he didn't know how he felt about it. Eyeing the piece of paper, a slightly cunning smile spread across his face. "If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix."

Turning away from the mirror, Duo Maxwell's smile never reached his eyes. He made his way down the stairs to the transport waiting for him, his braid bobbing in his wake.

#*#

Arriving at the Preventers Headquarters, Duo smirked up at the building as he got out of the car. Having kept up a constant stream of chatter in it, he fell silent as they stopped. The smirk spread over his face, his thoughts wandering a little. He wondered just what the briefing would contain; he was curious as to just what it was that Colonel Une would have to say to them that he had not been able to find out for himself by using his own skills. He was fairly certain that the others would not receive the assignment that he himself had. Duo was torn out of his momentary lapse by a query next to him. 

"What do you think of it?" Trowa was looking at Duo, his face marred by a slight frown. 

"Of what might that be?" It was a typical avoidance maneuver whilst trying to bring his thoughts back to the present. It had never failed to aid Duo in a cause.

"Everything. The end. The offers. The circumstances." Not much deterred Trowa when he had a bone in his teeth.

"Everything would take too long. Every end is just the beginning of something new. Time will tell. Same shit, different day!" And Duo closed it off with a wink, wringing a dry chuckle from someone he now considered some sort of friend.

"And I almost thought you were being poetic, Duo."

Duo's laugh was throaty as he bounded up the stairs to the entrance behind the others. He called out behind, twirling to look down at Trowa, throwing his arms dramatically to either side. "Today is the first day of the rest of our lives, Trowa." And he disappeared from view, leaving Trowa to follow in his wake, a thoughtful look on his face.

#*#

If he had to admit it, Trowa was confused by Duo. A few days beforehand the American had become a little subdued, or perhaps it was just less obviously loud. In any case, Trowa thought it might have something to do with the up and coming briefing. He hoped he would find out.

Following the rest of them into the elevator, Trowa watched as the chestnut-haired boy fidgeted a little nervously. Then, a rather evil grin crossed his face, and he reached up, pulling the tie out of Wufei's hair so quickly that had Trowa not been watching, he would have missed it.

Clamping the hand not holding the tie over his mouth, Duo suppressed laughter, while Wufei slowly turned and glared at the American.

"Awww, come on Chang! Don't try to kill me with a glare. You should know by now, I'm immune!"

Raising an eyebrow Wufei looked at the other youth. "Give. Me. The. Tie. Now. Maxwell."

A pout spread across Duo's face as he reluctantly handed the Chinese youth the hair tie back. Violet eyes sparkled briefly.

The elevator bell clinged and let them out on the 14th floor. Wufei didn't break a stride, reaching behind his head to tie his hair into place; in the same style he always wore it, his glare on Duo not lessening at all.

Braid in hand, probably a self-preservation technique, Duo walked ahead of them, full of energy and burst into the room without knocking.

"Hi there, Une! Here we all are then!" Sitting himself comfortably on the arm of the couch that was there, he leaned forward, clasping his fingers. "Ok, so we're a little early, but you should be happy to have such punctual and loveable students such as us, shouldn't you?" 

Une took the entrance in stride, aware of Duo's tenacious nature from their brief encounters during the war. Malcom Gray had no such luck, but no one was paying attention to him. 

Suddenly Duo twirled and glared at Wufei, holding the Chinese man's hand in his own, eyes blazing. "No, Chang! _No_ one touches my hair. My hair belongs to _me_."

Wufei's eyes blazed in response. "Didn't seem to bother you about mine when you pulled it out."

Duo laughed, releasing the tension in the room, but sadly not the look in Wufei's eyes. "You're comparing your hair to mine! Please, Chang! My hair is much more work to put into a style once its been let out."

"You should have thought about that before you decided it would be fun to rip mine out." The black eyes were not lessening in intensity.

"And you should up your reflexes so that either, you catch me _before_ I take your hair out, or I don't catch you before you take out mine!" Duo was standing on his feet again, hands on his hips and his mouth in a crooked smile.

"Touché, Duo." Wufei gave his head a slight bow. "I will make sure I do not get caught next time."

The brief glare that passed over the American's face disappeared almost immediately. "Try it, Chang, just try it…"

"Boys…Boys!" Malcolm clapped his hands impatiently. Five pairs of eyes stared at him with looked that could have killed, if that were possible.

Pushing himself away from the wall he was leaning on, Trowa approached the desk. "We are not boys." His voice was, as usual, quiet and soft, but holding such conviction and threat that the meaning was not lost. "And considering what it is that you are wanting us to do, you might want to consider other people for the positions, if you think we are… boys…"

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room, until Duo grew bored and starting singing a rendition of amazing grace. The lyrics …were different.

"Open up my mouth and insert foot, I've done it once before…"

Quatre looked at Duo quizzically and almost laughed. "Duo, that tune really isn't very appropriate."

An exaggerated exasperated expression crossed Duo's face, as he threw up his hands. "Well, _you_ try to come up with something on the spur of the moment. Sheesh." He was trying, unsuccessfully, to ignore the fact that Quatre and Trowa were laughing, and Heero and Chang were smiling, but managed to finish off what he wanted to say before dissolving into laughter himself. "I mean talk about disturbing creative genius at work…"

Une watched them for a couple of minutes, trying very hard not to laugh herself and only just managing to resist the temptation. When she noticed the incredulous look that Gray was giving her, she spoke softly under her breath. "Yes, I am sure. Trust me on this one." Although the look he gave her was sceptical, he didn't say anything to her. Instead, he watched the former pilots as they struggled to stop laughing.

"That will do now." Une's voice cut into the room, stopping them all from laughing, at least for a minute.

"Yes, sir. Um… ma'am… um, what the hell should I call you?" Duo was fighting the laughter that was bubbling up inside him again.

A level stare at Duo, stopped the laughter, but he continued to grin as she answered his question. "Ma'am will do."

"Not Lady? Though, you're right. Ma'am will have to do. I refuse to give my reasons on the grounds that they might offend you." Winking with the statement, Duo finally managed to calm down enough to stop laughing and concentrate a little better.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…" Quatre was trying to keep a straight face as he intoned the classic lines, but failed miserably. His words made the longhaired youth start laughing again. Even Trowa and Heero were laughing and Wufei was, obviously having a very bad time controlling it himself. 

.

Standing up, Une brought her hand down on the desk causing a loud bang. "That is _enough_."

Barely sobering up, Duo leaned over and whispered to Quatre. "Yeah, Quatre. Why can't you do as you're told?"

"Stop it, Maxwell." Une glared.

"Yes, Ma'am." Meek was a tone that did not suit the American pilot, and Quatre found himself fighting laughter again. One glance at the director's face told him he really should try harder in fighting it, and so he reined it in.

"Now!" She sat down, once she was sure that she had their attention. "Today you are here so we can explain exactly what will be expected from each of you. You received the letters, I presume?" She glanced over her notes upon receiving five nods, and then continued to brief the former pilots on what it was that would be expected of them, and exactly what type of school they would be attending.

"Now as you are aware, the Preventers is a peace-keeping Agency. We are charged with maintaining this peace that you have fought to obtain. The principle is pretty much the same as what you are used to. People who attend this school will be taken on as Preventer cadets. Training will include but not be limited to: Justice studies, Ethics, Diplomacy and Hostage negotiations, Weapon deployment, Marksmanship, Engineering, Maintenance, Piloting, Physical Training, Arrest and Detainment procedures, Computer Intelligence, Networking, Espionage, Infiltration, Under-Cover Operations, Demolition, Psychopathology, Forensic Pathology, Psychology, Sabotage and Project Analyses. She took a breath and flipped through some pages, before continuing. 

"These are, of course, the main areas that everyone has to cover. These are the basic subjects that you will need to study before you narrow down your choices in your second year. Concentration will then be focused on the varied aspects that branch off from the basic subjects." Her tone of voice implied that their choices would largely be made for them. "Every student is expected to complete at least two majors and two minors. Every student choosing a major requires final approval of the choice. As you will be able to tell some of the areas are not suitable to every type of person. You five will be expected to complete at least three majors and five minors. I know it sounds like a lot, but your field experience will qualify you for minor's in several of these already. Your specialisations will require less work, therefore we ask that you accomplish more than students who have not had your backgrounds."

"Are you with me so far?" She scanned the room, noticing that even Duo was nodding silently in response. "Okay, then I will carry on. As a general rule cadets will only be called upon in a case of emergency. However, considering the extent of your experience, it is entirely possible that we could call on you at any stage, considering the extent of your experience. The general age for attending here has been placed at around twenty-one. Normally it is required that trainees have a high school certificate and at least a diploma or degree in something relevant. In your cases, exceptions have been made.

"How many do you already have?" Trowa was frowning, trying to think while still taking in the information and processing it.

Une blinked. "How many do we have of?"

Heero moved, uncrossing his arms. "How many agents do you already have?"

"Oh, around one hundred and ninety-three actual agents, not including administrative staff and officer of course."

"No wonder Mariemaia wasn't detected beforehand." Trowa wasn't being offensive, he was simply stating a fact. "That's really a pitiful amount Une, considering the size of earth and the colonies. They're made up of ex-soldiers mostly, yes?"

"Partially. Volunteers with the correct background. Former police officers, former rebels, even one or two you may know." 

The Japanese teen was getting impatient. "So this school can take approximately two hundred and eighty-eight students 'on campus'?"

"How did you…" Une's eyes narrowed. "Guess I couldn't expect you to actually wait for the briefing now, could I?" Her gaze wavered to Duo, who just grinned at her, his eyes cold.

"Yes two hundred and eighty-eight students can technically fit, at this point in time. Although, there should be two more buildings up by midyear which will enlarge the intake. It will not be an easy school to attend, if you can call it a school at all."

Wufei snorted slightly. "It feels like a boarding school. Do we have a curfew?" His tone was mocking.

"Really, Chang. That's a little juvenile."

"I'm only just seventeen. You'll have to excuse me if I sometimes act my age, _Ma'am_"

Trowa was suppressing a smile, barely. "So basically the chances of us being called into duty while we are studying are quite large, yes?"

"Very likely." Une stretched her hands out in front of her. "Extremely likely, in fact."

"Good!" Duo had moved across the room to stand in between Heero and Trowa, crossing his arms, eyes never leaving Une's face. "Because I hate being bored, and classes always bore me." He grinned, ferally.

"Well, now that we have settled that, might I continue?"

"Oh, don't let our inquisitiveness put you off. It's only natural after all. We _are_ teenagers. Carry on, please." Quatre's tone was diplomatic, with an underlying current of impatience.

Only slightly miffed, Lady Une continued. "Each unit consists of …"

"Two bathrooms, a kitchen section, a large living section, and eight sleeping quarters which have room for a double bed, desk, wardrobe and a…" Heero glanced at Duo. "…teensy, I believe the word was, bit of room to move." Duo chuckled as Heero continued. " On the ground floor is a cafeteria and a games or recreation room of sorts. Though as far as I can tell, nothing educational is contained therein. On the first floor of each building is a large gymnasium, fully equipped, for fitness purposes. On each of the following nine floors are two apartments, giving each building a total of one hundred and forty-four possible occupants. You have, for some reason, placed us on the top floor of the first building, in the left apartment."

Une sighed. "Do you want the briefing or have you already found out everything on your own?"

Heero shrugged. Wufei thought that the window was offering a magnificent view. Quatre was worrying at a loose thread that he found on his shirt. Trowa was studying his fingernails. They were all bored.

Duo piped up. "We probably know more than you do, but go ahead. Maybe we actually missed something." His voice was lightly mocking.

"Fine. Point made. It's Friday. You have three days to settle into your accommodations. Your class schedules are quite tight and will need to be strictly adhered to. There are repercussions if you do not have an excellent reason for missing them. And no, Duo, being temporarily dead doesn't count."

Duo put his hand down and muttered under his breath. "Damn."

Eyeing the teen warily, Une continued. "Your orientation will begin on Monday morning, although I have no doubt that you will already have reconned your position and know exactly where everything is. I do ask you to please bear with it, and not make too much fun of your lecturers."

She paused to study their faces before continuing. "Once a week you will have to attend a therapy session with Dr Mathews. Once a fortnight you have to attend a physical with the head doctor on the premises. I am fairly sure that you will not have a problem with that, considering who she is. And once a week each of you will be required to spend an hour with me, going over your 'progress' and exactly what it is that you will be majoring in. I do realise that you all have a much broader spectrum than most of our students, but I am hoping that it will make your heavy schedules a little easier."

Taking another breath, she was rather surprised that they had let her get this far without interrupting yet again. "Although I realise that you have probably all brought bits of your own technology with you, you also have computers in your rooms. Please try not to fiddle too much with what you have. I know its very likely unavoidable in your cases, but I have to tell you that anyway."

"Now. In your schedules you have three classes a week. That will hopefully help you integrate yourselves into tasks that before now have just been something that you have either ignored or not necessarily needed to accomplish. Included in these will be how to make 'non-nukable' food," She smiled at Quatre's embaressed face, "as well as how to not react in public, and how to prevent yourselves from letting you harm others without intending to. They are things you haven't had to do before, and as such, are things that you need to learn."

Une paused, to let that sink in, before continuing.

"It is for these reasons that for at least the start of your stay here, we will only have you in an apartment to yourselves. There will, for the time being, be three rooms that are not occupied in your apartment. Although you will be sharing the floor with others, you will not have to share the apartment, because I seriously do not think that any other cadets at this point in time would survive unscathed. Other cadets will be arriving on Sunday evening, so you have a few days of rest before all hell breaks loose. Oh, and these people are not lacking in normal experience. They have come from the police force, from what used to be secret services, as well as from martial arts backgrounds, computer degrees, and so on and so forth. These people are older than you, so please try not to ridicule them too much, or show them up too greatly. Any questions?"

"Not at the moment. Though I'm fairly sure I can find out anything I have forgotten to ask you."

"I am aware of this, Mr. Yuy."

A simple nod was all the acknowledgement that she received before Heero spoke again. "Then we may leave?"

"Yes, you may go," She saw Duo getting ready to leave too. "Except for you, Mr. Maxwell!"

"Shit… I thought you'd forget."

"Not a chance."

Sighing, Duo looked at the others. "And don't forget… left corner room is _mine_."

"Yes, Maxwell," Wufei looked at him as he left the room, as if to say, 'be careful with them.'

Duo just nodded. The exchange, although lost on Mr Gray, was not lost on Une.

As the door closed behind his friends, Duo took a deep breath and turned to look at Une. Approaching the desk, he stood in front of it. "Well, I'm here. Talk."

"I think that you already know why I wanted to talk to you alone. I'm sure not even _my_ protections could keep _you_ out."

A smirk crossed the former thief's face. "And how right you are, Une. I can call you Lady in private now, cant I? Just like I can call you Malcolm. Isn't that right, old man?" It wasn't really a question.

"Duo, behave." 

A laugh rumbled from somewhere in Duo, it wasn't really a pleasant sound. "Awww, come off it, Une. That's a paradox." He was still laughing.

Malcolm looked a little doubtful and leaned towards Une, his voice low. He didn't see Duo's eyes narrow. "Are you sure you are correct in this, Une? He seems…" But he didn't get any further.

Duo took two steps forward until he was leaning over the table, eyes flashing, intolerance obvious. Every word he spoke was bitten and sharp. "Do. Not. Talk. As. If. I. Am. Not. Here."

Straightening, he crossed his arms, still looking down at the white haired man he had already come to dislike. "You have no idea just what I am capable of. Do not judge what you do not know."

Une tried rather unsuccessfully to suppress a laugh, but managed to get herself under control after muttering a barely audible, "I told you so."

"Ok then Duo, how do you feel about being our marksman?"

"Assassin." There was a glint in Duo's eyes.

"Sniper." Une countered.

"_Assassin._" Duo was a little more adamant, the playfulness completely gone from his voice. "Don't try to sugar coat it Une, we both know what it is you are asking me to do. You are asking me to kill those people who would get in the way of this peace, and who cannot be convinced by any other means that they should not get in our way. You are asking me to be that person, who is the last in the line of keeping this peace, when needed. Go on. Tell me I'm wrong." His body language issued the challenge, even more so than his voice.

Une wondered how the teenager could sound so much older than he was, but knew that the answer wasn't pretty. "Yes, Duo. You're right. Assassin it is."

"See, told you so." He winked. "So, give me the low down."

"One of your majors will need to be marksmanship, although we realise this will not be difficult for you. It is still necessary to give you access to the weapons and shooting ranges so that you may practice and keep on top of it. You can _not_, and I repeat _can_ _not_ tell your comrades about this."

A frown crossed Duo's face. "I do not lie, Une. I never have and I never will. If they ever ask me directly, I will have to tell them."

"Then see to it that they do not ask." Malcolm wasn't too sure about the youth in front of him. He was getting impatient.

"And when I want a civilian's perspective, I'll ask for it." Duo's voice was scathing, he was obviously not in a good mood anymore. "I was talking to Lady Une. She is more familiar with my capabilities than you are, so you should probably listen to her."

"Enough, Duo." Une noticed the momentary rebellion that appeared in Duo's eyes, but pushed on ahead hoping that he would listen. "When required for such duties you will be given a plausible excuse for not being there. In total, myself, Mr Gray here and only one other person are aware of your true status. You will be listed as being trained for the special unit branch. Any questions?"

"Why me? Heero is a marginally better marksman."

"Because you are the only one who shows no compunctions at having to kill again Duo. You are the only one whose character should be able to handle this. You are only marginally less a better shot than Heero, which with training, I am sure, will shortly become moot."

Barely nodding, Duo ran over the situation in his head. It was a challenge, he liked challenges… he would see where the path took him. Perhaps there would be no use for his skills, perhaps no one would be stupid enough to try and disturb the peace. Of course if they were that stupid, there was no way that Duo was going to let their hard work go to waste. No one was going to disturb the peace, as long as Duo could do something about it.

"I'll do it. But there is a condition. If I do not think that you are right in your selection of my targets… I will not take the shot. Trust me I can find out more information that you will give me. I will deem what is an appropriate level of knowledge. Believe me, anything less than complete knowledge of the situation, and I will know."

"Understood." Une looked at her notes and smiled grimly. "Just one more thing, Duo."

"Yes?"

"You are not allowed to laugh at your teachers, poke fun at their lesser knowledge, or blow up their classrooms. I realise that you might get bored, but that is no way to behave in this environment. I also wish to remind you that any insolence will be dealt with by me, and that I will be keeping a close eye on you. Although I do not expect it to be a problem, your marks must also be exceptional. All five of you are something that a lot of the other students will look up to despite your age. If you lead by bad example, then I am sure the rest will follow, and I do not wish to have to discipline too many of my cadets at once."

Duo was pouting. 

"Don't try that look with me, Duo. Also, try not to intimidate people too much, and see if you can make sure that Yuy and Chang do not do it either. I know with those two it is almost inbred, but I am sure there is something you can do that will convince them to go easy on other people. You also need to try not to divert attention in the basic classes. You will only really be in those classes for a little while. Many of the cadets we are getting are on different levels, and so there will be some intermediate classes already in progress. You need to let the others learn please, despite the fact that I know you will get extremely bored."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Duo.

"Fine!." He sounded exasperated. "Just ruin all of my fun, why don't you. I'll try, but I'm not promising anything else."

"That's all I'm asking, Duo, all I'm asking." She was watching the teenager closely.

"Of course, I notice you failed to mention the students who won't take kindly to our presence." He knew he'd hit a sore spot when Une blanched, but he barrelled on. "Well if that's all, I'm going before someone decides I don't get the room I wanted." In the blink of an eye he was gone, door snapping shut behind him.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would." Malcolm managed to speak, after being silent for so long.

Une got up and glared slightly at him. "Yes, it did. No thanks to you." And she too left the room, door swinging shut behind her.

Malcolm's eyes narrowed. The nature of the people they were recruiting, or had recruited for the Preventers, made him uneasy. But he knew beyond doubt this new peaceful era needed exactly those sort of people to maintain it. Perhaps they were needed even more than before.

#*#

Chapter Four 

Reaching the top floor of their apartment building, Duo frowned, and reached into his pocket to pull out a lockpick. A couple of seconds later, and a small click, he was rewarded by the door opening and letting him into the place he was going to call home for a long while to come. Closing the door behind him, he looked up to see Heero standing not far away, arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"What did they want, Duo?" That expression wasn't friendly and Duo gulped.

~~**~~


	4. Waiting

Author: Arithion/Arithkenshin 

Email: arithkenshin@yahoo.co.uk

Title: Delusions of Normalcy

Rating: R

Warnings: Continuation, language, introspective mild Angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own them; I don't get any money from this… just a time-sink

Set: End of GW

Summary: "If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix."

Notes: If you wish to Archive, please ask. Thanks to Sol for betaing. /salute War Room

I'd really like to thank all the people who read this. There are many reasons I'm writing this, and many reasons I was never going to post it. Thank you all for making me not regret being persuaded to put it out there. I hope you enjoy this instalment. 

**Delusions of Normalcy **

**Waiting **

"What did they want, Duo?" That expression wasn't friendly and Duo gulped, before he slowly let a grin spread over his face.

"Whoa, there, Heero. Had me almost scared for a moment." Frantically Duo ran everything that had gone on in the meeting through his mind, finding what he could and couldn't say to his comrades without actually lying.

Heero wasn't being patient, though. Taking a step closer, he entered Duo's personal space, causing the violet-eyed teen to shudder and bite down on reflexes. "What. Did. They. Want. Duo?"

"Hell, Heero, give me some space. I got a lecture, a fucking long one: on how to behave here, on what not to do, on how I am not allowed to cause disruptions or distract other students, or blow up classrooms. Which really sucks. I also got told I am not allowed to intimidate people, and have to remember that we are all going to be looked up to or something despite our ages That I have to try and keep you and Chang from scaring the shit out of the other cadets with a simple look." Taking in a deep breath Duo managed to glare at Heero, who was still just short of pinning Duo to the wall. "Is that okay, your grumpiness?" Running over everything in his mind, Duo suppressed a sigh of relief. He had not lied once.

Grunting a little, Heero turned and walked into the sparsely furnished living area. Duo let out another breath, his senses tingling from the invasion of his personal space. Reactions that would have lashed out at anyone else made him realise, that in a few different ways, he trusted these four other men more than he had trusted almost anyone ever.

"Where are the others?" Duo asked as he moved over to stand next to the large window, giving him a complete view of the unit and the ten doors leading off the main living and kitchen area.

"They have gone to acquire food." Heero's face grimaced. "I chose to wait here for you, thinking you might…knock." A slight smile tugged at his lips, and he looked over at Duo. "Be happy that we have a 'nuke' machine as you call it, and an oven, as well as a rather large freezing section to the fridge. I think the food will consist largely of ready meals of the frozen variety, since we all know now to remove the plastic before putting it in the oven."

Gaping, Duo looked at Heero in a slightly different light. "Sheesh, Heero, give me a heart attack. But your personality is starting to come through nicely. I knew it was hidden there somewhere… what's brought on the change?"

A slightly pained look crossed Heero's face, and the Japanese teen looked at his hands. "Well… I don't have, missions… it's not war anymore. It is logical that there is more to me, I just need to… dig it out as you would say."

"Yeah, and if anyone can find you, Heero, it's you. Might take a while, though." Duo's eyes were twinkling, previous discomfort momentarily forgotten. Falling into reverie he was a little startled when Heero spoke again, from a little closer.

"Duo?" The voice was tentative.

"Yeah, Heero," Duo resisted the automatic urge that he had to move away and gain himself some more space.

"You said…" Heero took a breath. It was hard to speak like this, he felt uncertain. "A long time ago, you said you were my friend, that you were the only one I had right then." Another deep breath that shook a little. "Did you mean it? Are we still…I mean… are you still?"

Duo was shocked, and not exactly sure how to deal with Heero's sudden vulnerability. "Um well, I meant it back then… I haven't changed my mind… so yeah, I guess I am…you are still … you know?

A small smile played over Heero's lips. "Thank you. I thought what you said the other day meant that you had changed your mind."

Duo couldn't have been more shocked, but tried valiantly not to show it. "Heh. No worries, Heero. S'okay. I'll tell you if you piss me off enough to not be your friend anymore."

Heero smiled tightly. "I value that. I'm not sure of the friend thing, but I can only try, Duo. If you want." His offer seemed hesitant, and there was no way that Duo thought it would be healthy for the Japanese teen to go back into that shell now that he had begun to crawl out of it a little bit.

"Yeah, Heero. I want. People you trust are hard to find. Real friends even harder… lets work towards that, since I trust you already, okay?"

Heero nodded and held out his hand awkwardly. Duo's eyes widened as he realised the significance of the gesture. Solemnly he shook the chocolate haired boy's hand.

As they let go, Duo heard noises in the hallway outside and a grin spread across his face. "No telling people I was soppy though. Else I'll tell them you're secretly human."

Heero actually laughed. "Deal," he said.

By the time the others came through the door, Heero and Duo were no where near each other, and Duo bounded across to help them unpack, chattering away at the top of his voice. He was glad that Heero had had something else on his mind and hadn't pushed him too much to answer the query of why Une had kept him in the office.

#*#

The smoke alarm just wouldn't stop. At least it wouldn't stop until Heero aimed at, and shot it. The shouted argument between Duo and Quatre stopped immediately and the loud beeping was gone… or wait…was it? Heero's head was pounding.

The peace didn't last for long.

"Come off it, Quatre. It makes sense."

"It does not, Duo. The instructions are there for a reason."

"How was I supposed to know that 225 degrees for 40 minutes wouldn't do the same as 150 for 60? It's a logical mathematical equation!"

"Maxwell. How would your turbos react if you turned them on overdrive for a third of the time you would normally use them."

Duo blinked. "Well, I didn't think of it in the means of fricking engine mechanics did I?"

Quatre sighed. "Can you get it off the shelf, Trowa?"

"I'm trying."

Duo grumbled. "Its not like we can't just use another shelf. I mean hello, we have three and a spare."

"Duo, that's not the damn point!" Quatre raised his voice again.

Heero had had enough. Calmly drawing a second gun he walked over to the kitchen and pointed a gun at each of his comrades' heads. "_Be_. _Quiet!"_

Duo gulped, and Quatre looked like he was going to faint.

"I have a headache. I do not like headaches. They make me cranky. The guns are not cocked; I just wanted to make a point. But they will be, if you yell again." Pocketing the guns in the blissful silence, Heero returned to the living area and began picking up the pieces of the broken smoke alarm.

"Um, need help getting that off the shelf, Trowa?" Duo's voice was soft.

"It's okay. Duo. I think its pretty much… well…" He frowned. "…fused. Sorry, can't think of another way to describe it."

"Oops…" A slightly forlorn look spread across Duo's face. "Guess we really need a little help with this crap, hey?"

Quatre snorted. "You could say that. And I have to admit, your idea did have logic."

"Yeah, heh, I think I'll leave the, um …cooking to you guys for tonight. I'm going to go and get my shit unpacked." Duo straightened and walked to his room, head down and face a little pinched. He wasn't really feeling too good. Probably came from being that stressed that there were the beginnings of a stress headache. "Shit, just what I need." He murmured as he walked passed Heero, who looked up from what he was reading with a curious expression on his face.

Walking into the room that he was glad to see the others had let him keep after all, Duo plopped onto the bed. It was a comfortable bed. The sheets were a little too starched and stiff for his liking, but that wouldn't last long. His preference was for black, but the blue sheets would suffice until he could get out and manage to get some supplies for himself. Idly he wondered, as he unpacked his few belongings, if they had any access to funds. He had a little himself, hidden away, that he could access, but really didn't feel like using it. Realising that there were a lot of questions that they had not asked, he came to the conclusion that he would have to remedy that. They needed to know just what they could do to the apartments, rooms, and just what they were supposed to live off.

Picking up the package on his pillow, he ripped it open. As the contents fell onto the bed, he realised that his headache had gone, and that his schedule had been sent over to him. His face fell as he read through the schedule and realised that they had been serious in saying that they would have a hefty one. His eyes narrowed, and he burst out of his room.

"No fucking way! They have to be kidding." Four faces turned to look up at the longhaired man, from where they were studying their own timetables. "I don't know why they warned me about causing trouble, I'm not going to have enough energy to move after all this shit." Letting himself fall onto the dreadfully cream couch, he pouted at his printout. "If any of you have less than seven hours worth of special training two interviews and a doctors appointment I am going to cry Judas."

"That reference has no relevance, Maxwell." Wufei was scowling at his own timetable.

"I guess this is what we get for missing out on going to school for most of our lives." Trowa's voice had a slight hint of humour in it.

Quatre chuckled. "Yeah, we should look at it this way. At least we're not considered hunted war criminals."

Duo blinked. "If that was a joke, Quatre, it was in really bad taste." And he threw one of the rather stiff cushions at the blonde, who managed to duck and avoid it only because he fell off the couch. Duo started laughing and was only saved from Quatre's wrath by the ding of the oven bell.

"What's for dinner?"

"Pizza." Trowa said as he stood up to go and get the food.

"Again?" Duo looked puzzled. He knew he loved pizza but had thought no one else did.

"Yeah. It's one of the few things we can just put in the oven and cook without causing any permanent damage." Quatre looked a little perturbed and Duo had to laugh. Pizza every night would be fine by him.

#*#

The next day dawned prettily and Duo sat at his window looking out over the Preventers Headquarters Grounds that spanned a very large distance. He needed fresh air. He hated being couped up. It was very early and he decided he needed a little strength and concentration in order to focus on the day at hand.

Silently, he padded out of his room, through the unit, and up to the roof. Tea in hand, he let the wind wash over him. There was nothing like earth for the elements; their unpredictability calmed him, as he tried to ignore the other things that he didn't particularly like about being on the natural planet. Setting his mug down, Duo breathed in, slowly calming his entire body, brain, and involuntary functions, until it was only him and what he was focusing on. Muscles relaxed, it was much easier to move himself into the positions he was aiming for.

It was something he had been doing for years, progressing until it was a type of Yoga from what he could gather. But then, a thief couldn't be successful if he couldn't be silent and move with the shadows. It was his secret that assisted him in being so good at infiltration, and it was part of him, that he wasn't really planning on sharing with anyone else. He moved through the exercises that had become a part of him.

They had been developed out of need for specific muscles to be maintained. If he had seen someone else execute a move or exercise, and figured that he could do with those muscles being limber as well, his routine was adapted. He calmed himself, readying his mind to take in the days and months that were ahead of him; coming to peace with the decision he had made yesterday. There was no regret, because there was no way that Duo was going to let anyone destroy what he had worked so hard to achieve.

The apartment was already alive with the others when he ventured back down shortly after seven in the morning. He moved quickly to wash his mug out and pour himself some coffee. Leaning against the kitchen divider, he observed his roommates as they went through their own morning exercises.

Heero was stretching by the window. Quatre was desperately looking for something to pull over the milky expanse of his chest that was currently bare. Trowa was fighting with his hair and, as usual, it was shortly before he would resign himself to it falling the way it always fell regardless of whether he wanted it to or not.

Wufei was in the far corner, away from the others, practicing his Kata. Although Duo had never seen the man practice it during the war, he didn't doubt that he had. Those movements and skills were far too well honed for Wufei not to have. Shrugging his shoulders, Duo just watched the others, taking in the sense and level of security he felt around them. While it wasn't quite friendship in all cases, it was trust. He couldn't help think that if even Heero was willing to become a friend, then the others couldn't be that far behind. Maybe everything would turn out for the best.

Heero turned around, a scowl on his face. "This is frustrating and I'm getting annoyed."

Or, thought Duo, maybe not.

"What's wrong, Heero?" Everyone looked at the ex-thief, not really having noticed him there before.

"This, Duo!" And Heero pointed out the window to the parking places below. "There are people…arriving! Une said this would not happen until Sunday night. How can her information be so inaccurate?"

Suppressing a laugh, Duo moved forward to peer out of the window. Heero was indeed right. There were young people getting out of cars and making there way into the lobby of the apartment buildings. Cursing mildly under his breath, Duo noticed people making their way over from the main building, and was fairly certain that Une and Gray would be amongst them. Skulling what was left of his coffee, Duo deposited the mug on the sink, and pushed his hands in his pockets. "Settle, Heero. They won't be living in the same apartment as us. I'm going to go and take a look around." Somehow those words visibly relaxed the others in the room, who turned to continue what it was they had been doing. Heero was the only one who nodded his head at Duo, before turning back to the window.

Smile spreading across his face, Duo left the apartment just as all hell broke loose.

"Oh, stuff it. Stupid frigging hair never does what it should."

"Great!" A happy exclamation issued from Quatre as he held up a shirt in triumph and bounced a little. "Finally…"

Wufei grunted and growled. "It is impossible to concentrate with this infernal racket going on." A door slammed, probably Wufei's bedroom door.

Letting the door click closed softly behind him, Duo couldn't help the smile grow as he decided to run down the stairs instead of taking the lift.

Not even out of breath when he arrived, Duo propped himself up against the wall and watched the proceedings with interest from the shadows. Une had approached the group, her usual demeanour showing and very little change to it once she had asked the question that was obvious, namely: What are you doing here a day early?

Curious as a cat, Duo slunk his way closer, not being as careful as he would usually, fairly sure that Une would pick up that he was there. Her eyes wandered briefly in Duo's direction and she bit down a smile. She should have known that very little would escape them, and she let Duo listen to the explanation.

"Sorry, Director. Our shuttles were mixed up and arrived a day early. The flight plans had already been proven and it would have taken forty-eight hours to get others approved. We would have been late had we taken those. We tried to radio ahead, but the comms system didn't seem to work properly. Please excuse our presumption, but we knew there were accommodations here for us, and we didn't think that it would be too much of an inconvenience to you."

The young man finished talking. Duo barely managed to suppress a laugh at the expectant look on his face.

Lady Une observed the young man in front of her. "It is not me that you should be worried about inconveniencing." Pausing she looked directly at Duo. "Come out, Maxwell. I know you've probably heard every word so far."

Strolling out, Duo's face was shadowed as he mock bowed in front of her. Stopping a short distance from the group of men, Duo simply nodded in their direction. "Naaah, Une, we're not inconvenienced." He had decided to do away with any formalities. Glancing at the men as he spoke. "Just stay out of Heero's way. He is a little, shall we say, highly strung. Wouldn't want you to get knee capped by accident." A smile spread across his face. "But seriously, he's worse than his bite. One day soon, he may even grow a personality. Not sure what floor you're on, but we're in this building on the tenth. Just so you know… just in case." His smile was disarming, and despite the warning he was giving the tone discharged the tense atmosphere.

"Thank you, Duo…" Une was still trying to figure out if she should be flattered or not that Duo has chosen to give out so much information.

"No probs, Lady! Oh, by the way, we need to chat. Got time around ten? Great! See you at our place!" Turning to leave, Duo grinned back over his shoulder. "Oh … I'd say the food here sucks, but since I haven't had the displeasure yet, I'm sure you'll find out on your own." Absently waving his hand he headed inside the building and made his way up to the apartment. 

The men left standing, looked after the youth quizzically, certain that he was far younger than them, but it was obvious that he was well acquainted with the director. 

"Um, Director, who is that?" 

Une smiled a tight smile. "That, Mr Davies, is someone that you will be seeing a lot more of. Now, let us see about your accommodations. I have no idea where the housemaster placed you, but the rooms for all of you are ready so placing the twenty-five of you won't be a problem. Each apartment block has a list in the foyer, so it should be easy enough. I'll hand out the keys once you have it figured out." Idly she was wondering what it was that the ex-Gundam Pilots needed to speak to her about. 

#*# 

Arriving at the apartment again, Duo walked in to find it nothing like he had left it. Wufei had very obviously locked himself in his bedroom. Quatre was looking down his shirtfront, a little dismayed at the very obvious tea stain that found itself there. Heero was still scowling out of the window, and Trowa was doing his best to glare at the bang obscuring half his face. 

Turning to look at Duo, Trowa grimaced. "Should I just cut the damn thing Duo?" 

"What?" Duo was truly shocked. "Cutting hair is sacrilegious…" 

Wufei's door opened and his head poked out. "You have no religion, you heathen." And it slammed shut again. 

"I do so! It's my hair! Anyway, no way, Trowa. That hair is your… your… well… it defines you. All of our hairstyles define us. Heero's gives away that he is really confused under all of that rough exterior." Heero chose to scowl more. "Quatre's lets us know just how sweet he can be by having an extremely touchable hairstyle. Yours makes us remember there are sides to you that we don't see often, and Chang's just means he is stiff and unbendable…because having a stick up your ass will do that to you!" Although Duo finished it off rather brightly, an indignant snort could be heard from Wufei's bedroom. 

"I heard that, Maxwell." 

"You were meant to, Chang!" 

"Anyway, don't cut it, Trowa. Just get even. Oh, wait, that's something you say to enemies…and well since your hair is attached to your head I guess it isn't an enemy." 

Quatre was looking at him incredulously. "How do you do it, Duo?" 

"Do what?" Duo wasn't quite sure where this was leading to and was therefore being careful. 

"I mean, I can talk, and I can talk quite well, but I eventually need a breath in there somewhere. You just seem to keep going and going…" 

"Like the Energizer bunny." Heero's quiet observation came at exactly the right moment to drop neatly into the break in conversation as Quatre was trying to think of an analogy. 

"A what?" Quatre looked a little confused. 

Startled that he had actually said that out loud, Heero looked a little uncomfortable at first. "It's an old television advertisement. There was this bunny rabbit with a drum, that wouldn't stop, and it kept going and going because it had an Energizer battery." Shrugging his shoulders he turned to the window again. "Duo just reminds me of it, because he never stops, talking or otherwise." 

Duo had a slack look on his face, because that was an analogy that he would never have expected Heero to come up with. Yet here he was standing and listening to it. "Well! Now your asking me if my battery had run out makes sense to me." 

A smirk spread across Heero's face as he watched whatever it was that he was watching. "I thought you would already know that reference. I'll clarify myself a little better next time." 

Duo just shrugged and walked over to where Heero was, keeping space between himself and the other pilot so as to not startle any part of Heero into action. "What are you looking at so intently?" 

Gesturing out of the window, Heero vaguely included the entire compound. "That…" 

"I don't understand, Heero." Duo was honestly trying to puzzle it out. Hs joker's attitude was gone for the moment. 

"The… lack of explosions, screaming, military enforcement… the greenery, upright buildings. The things that we helped achieve, Duo. We did do that, did we not?" It was almost as if Heero was pleading for it to be the case, waiting for Duo to reassure him, that this was what life was supposed to be like. 

"Yeah, in a way we did, Heero." 

Tension seemed to leak from Heero's body, leaving him looking a little more relaxed than Duo had ever seen him. "No more senseless killing, Duo?" 

"No more _senseless_ killing, Heero. Not anymore. We won the war, it's over and I for one plan on making sure that it stays over." 

Heero looked at him, almost through him, as if he could see something that other people couldn't see, and it made Duo shiver. "We will all make sure of that Duo. No one is going to go through that again. _We _will not let it." 

And for some reason, that made Duo feel just that little bit better, that little bit stronger and that little bit more at ease for making the decision that he had made the previous day. So he just stood with Heero at the window, watching the grounds below as the activity of the day started to get underway. 

Of course that would have just been a little too perfect right then. It was no surprise that a knock sounded at the door, sending all five ex-pilots onto alert mode at once. 

Duo let out a laugh. "Oh forgot to tell you, didn't I? I invited Une to our apartment." 

Wufei's door flew open. "You did what, Maxwell?" 

"Oh, can it, Chang. I invited Une to our apartment because there are some questions that I think we forgot to ask her, and I didn't particularly feel like going to her office and being on her turf yet again." 

Seeing the looks directed his way he glared right back at them. 

"Hell." He made his way over to the door to open it. It's not like we have any thing to hide, or any bodies in the cellars." Pausing before he opened the door he considered that. "Do we even have a cellar? I mean, hmmm, that's a good question." Swinging the door open, it was obvious that Une had just been about to knock again. 

Ignoring that fact, Duo smiled brightly. "Do we have a cellar, Une?" He motioned her inside, and laughed at her confused look. 

"A cellar, Duo?" 

"Yeah, you know. Dank, dusty, that place you keep wine… a cellar?" 

"Why would you want a cellar, Duo? Do you drink?" 

"Naaa, Une. Alcohol dulls the senses, don't you know. No, I wanted to know where we hide the corpses." 

Une looked shocked. "Corpses?" She almost choked it out and wondered if maybe she should go and check on the students who had just arrived. 

"Give me a break! Will someone on this planet get a bloody sense of humour before I fall into a premature grave?" Duo threw his hands up dramatically, and flopped himself down on the singular lounge chair. 

Une managed a tight smile. "I believe that your brand of humour takes a little getting used to, Duo. Anyway, you said you had some questions?" 

"Oh, yeah. What do we do for money?" 

Lady sighed. "I am taking it that you only got as far as your timetables, almost had a coronary, and then decided not to look any further. If you had looked further, you would have seen that there are bank account details in there, as well as your income information. The Preventers is an organization that is run on government, private and donated funds, as well as those that pay their own tuition once they have been accepted here. The organization has established something akin to scholarships. To be honest, it was the only way that we could get you into the programme and leave you a few benefits. After everything is paid for, there is, of course, surplus. It is from this surplus that you will be paid. It isn't a huge amount as you are not yet full agents, but it will provide you with _some _pocket money. Other students will be able to get part-time employment. We understand that this would be difficult for you, given your history. Your part time work will come into being when we require your assistance. You already have a little money in your accounts, and your payments will be every two weeks." 

She looked over them and realized that they had all been listening intently. That meant, she figured, that they had all probably been pissed off enough with their timetables that they had not thought to look any further. "That answer the question?" 

"Definitely, Lady Une." Quatre looked a little thoughtful, but then Une thought that she probably couldn't really blame him at all. It was a lot to take in at once, though considering that they were Gundam Pilots, they should really be okay with that amount of information. Perhaps that meant that Quatre had something else on his mind. 

"But I have another question." 

"Yes, Duo?" 

"These are our rooms yes?" 

"For the duration of your stay, yes." Une was eyeing Duo intently, curious as to what he was thinking. 

"Soooo, if they're our rooms, are we allowed to decorate them the way that we want?" 

"Depends on what you mean by the way that you want, Duo." Une answered cautiously. 

"I promise not to disturb the structural integrity of the building, and not to, um … explode anything. That good enough?" 

She thought about it. It was very likely that this was the first proper home that most of these five had ever had, and so she was reluctant in impeding anything that may cause their lives to be a little more normal. "Just don't go… overboard." 

"Great! You heard that didn't you, guys? I mean, she said I could redecorate my room!" Duo jumped up and ran into his room, grabbing out the package that had had his enrolment information in it. Glancing up at Une as he pulled out the account information, his look was a little peeved. "Oh, we'll talk about this stupid schedule at a later date. Right now, I do believe the shops are still open, and I for one want my room decorated before I have to spend all my days in jails disguised as classrooms." 

Quatre laughed. "Well, I have to admit. I wouldn't mind making a little difference to mine. It's so… militaristic." 

Trowa had gotten up to get his jacket and details, as had Heero, and Wufei was pulling his white overcoat on. Duo as per usual, was dressed in a priest's garb, his hair tightly braided and his brain obviously distracted by ideas of what he would buy and what he would do with the things that he bought. 

Une took it as the dismissal that it was, and exited the room just before the boys. Trowa locked the door behind them. Heero was glancing at the lock, frowning. "Insufficient and inefficient security. Something needs to be done about that. We will need an electronics store as well as a…" He pursed his lips. 

Duo's face gleamed with understanding. "You want a locksmith's too, if I'm not mistaken, Heero. And we could probably do with one of those chips." 

Heero's eyes were glowing with the thought that he would get to fiddle again. "Yes, a computer store should be on the shopping list, too." 

Une just shook her head. No, they were definitely not normal teenage boys. She followed them to the lifts making sure that she didn't come too close to their personal space. Knowing the type of reaction that she herself could give, she knew theirs would be far worse. "Try not to make too much of a spectacle, please." 

Duo winked cheekily. "Sure thing, mom!" 

"Maxwell!" Although it was a little exasperating, he always managed to get people to smile. That was a gift that she hoped the duty that they had forced upon him wouldn't sour. 

She guessed they'd just have to wait and see. 

#*# 

It was almost hard to keep up with him, but they managed it. Wufei, however was not graceful about managing it at all. 

"The next person that leaves enough coffee for Maxwell in the mornings is going to be a head shorter. He has too much energy as it is." 

"Come off it, Wufei. You don't think he's that bad at all." Trowa looked out from under his hair, a small smile on his face. 

"Perhaps I do not, but he still is inordinately energetic all of the time. It's unnatural." The Chinese man shrugged as the black clad body wove itself out of the checkout line, arms full, and a smile on his face. 

"Well, I've got most of the things that I need, they'll be delivered this afternoon. I just thought I would take this stuff with me now." 

Wufei grunted. "Can we go now?" 

"No." Heero steered his way out of that particular shop and made his way to a shop front that clearly showed electronics and computer parts. "I have shopping to do yet, Chang. The way you complain about the tea in our apartment, I would have thought you would take this opportunity to procure a variety that you yourself enjoy." 

Wufei looked a little abashed. "You know…Yuy, you should speak more. Sometimes you even make sense. I will find you." With that he headed off in the opposite direction, Quatre looking after him with concern on his face. 

"He needs to let some of that aggression out. It's eating him up." 

"Who, Chang?" Duo pursed his lips. "Naa, Quatre. He likes the aggression, deals with it every morning from what I can tell. Give him a while. He isn't used to people, hell, I don't even think he likes people." 

"Be nice, Duo." 

"I try, Quatre, but sometimes I just fail abysmally." A huge grin threatened to split Duo's face as he looked at the blond. 

Deigning to laugh, Quatre poked Duo. "You are incorrigible." 

Barely flinching at the touch, Duo managed a laugh himself. "That's what they all say, Quatre, that's what they all say." 

#*# 

Having gathered all the materials that they needed, the five youths walked back into their building, only to find Duo's delivery guy waiting out the front with a rather awed look on his face. 

Walking up to him, Duo smacked a hand onto his shoulder. "Hello, there. That the delivery for Maxwell?" 

"Um, yeah…" 

"Well, since that would be me, I'll sign, and we'll take it from here, thanks." The smile on Duo's face was sincere and the guy seemed to relax a little. 

"Sure thing… sign here, please." 

After signing the board, Duo waved goodbye to the delivery guy. "Trowa, can you give me a hand?" 

Drolly, Trowa began to clap his hands. 

Quatre lost it, and started laughing, even Heero and Wufei cracked a smile. Duo grinned like an idiot. "Oh, stop horsing around, and just help me get this crap upstairs, please." 

"Oh," said the green-eyed youth, feigning innocence. "_That's_ what you meant." 

"Geez, yeah, Trowa!" 

Quatre's chuckles followed them all the way up in the lift. 

#*# 

A couple of hours later Duo stood back and surveyed his room. He had chosen a corner room because he wanted as many windows as possible. He liked looking at the Earth's night sky. Quite satisfied with what he had accomplished, he catalogued the decorations. Black chiffon hung from the walls in waves, and each time it was fastened to the wall it was fastened with a black scythe. There were minutely sprayed Mobile suit cut outs that he had slightly modified to get to look a little like deathscythe sprayed wherever you could see the wall, blending nicely with the normal blue that the walls had been painted. Not even the windows had escaped. And blessedly, his bed had black sheets. 

Happily, he ventured out into the living area, to see Wufei brewing tea with a look of concentration on his face. Heero was nowhere to be seen, so Duo assumed that he had retreated to his bedroom, and Quatre and Trowa were both reading on the couches. 

"Wow, we sure are a happening group." He raised his eyes as he saw the front door open. Heero was testing the handle. It was now a locking mechanism of sorts. Obviously satisfied with what it was that he had accomplished, the former Wing pilot walked over, handing each of them a pass card. 

"These are the keys for the doors now. I have the ability to replicate them should you break one. Just don't break them." 

Quatre let out a sigh of relief. "Amazing how much more secure a simple lock can make you feel, isn't it?" 

"It's not just a lock. No one can enter this apartment without me being alerted to it, no matter how good they are. There is no way I am living with anything less than excellent security." 

Duo sighed. That was typical Heero. And Duo, as usual, was bored. He knew he might be inviting trouble, but seriously didn't care. Restless and bored were never good states of mind for him to be in, and the dash of curiosity wasn't helping any. "Anyone want to come and check out that games room with me downstairs?" 

~~**~~ 

Chapter Five 

For those that don't know, skulling is knocking back a drink very fast, or in one gulp ;) 

These chapters are a little different and more difficult to write than anything else I've tackled before. The gap in posting them will therefore be longer. Probably around the ten day mark, unless I can churn them out faster. 

I hope they're worth it in the end though. Hope you enjoyed and thank you for reading. 

~Arith 


	5. Dissonance

Author: Arithion/Arithkenshin 

Email: arithkenshin@yahoo.co.uk

Title: Delusions of Normalcy

Rating: R

Warnings: Continuation, language, introspective mild Angst,

Disclaimer: I don't own them; I don't get any money from this… just a time-sink

Set: End of GW

Summary: "If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix."

Notes: If you wish to Archive, please ask. Thanks to Sol for betaing /salute War Room

I'd really like to thank all the people who read this. It makes it a hell of a lot easier to write and post, knowing that its being well received.

Also, please note that my maths skills aren't brilliant. I thought they'd be 16 at this stage, but they're apparently 17 …oops. I'll be changing the previous instalments, but I', pretty sure this one is 17 friendly ;)

**Delusions of Normalcy **

**Dissonance  **

"Anyone want to come and check out that games room with me downstairs?" Duo almost cringed, waiting for the answer. 

Quatre's face brightened a little and he put down his book. "You know Duo, that sounds like an excellent idea. Though...what sort of games do they have?" The blond was frowning. 

Duo shrugged. "I don't really know. That was sort of the whole point. I want to find out. I'm bored, and restless. You all know that's never a good combination. So I'm going to go and take a shower, and then I'm heading downstairs. Company would be welcomed, but I'm sure I could also manage on my own. So if you're going to come with me, be ready by the time I am." Gathering a change of clothes from his bedroom, Duo made his way to the bathroom and locked himself in. Making sure to tie his hair out of the way, Duo got under the spray of water, idly wondering if Howard would be able to procure him some more outfits. Duo just didn't feel comfortable in anything else. 

Heero watched the bathroom door close. "We have between thirteen and eighteen minutes to decide whether we are going with him. He will be out by that time, because I doubt he will be washing his hair." 

Trowa raised an eyebrow. "You know how long he showers?" The tone was mildly incredulous. 

The look that Heero returned scoffed the other teen slightly. "I know how long all of you shower, as a general rule. Knowing your habits allowed, and still does allow, me to plan around you. Simple survival tactics." Turning on his heal, Heero walked into the bedroom he was using, next to Duo's, and pulled out his jacket. "I for one, do not think it wise that we let him go down to a recreation room, that could be full of this mornings arrivals, on his own. It is…" He stopped, trying to grasp what it was he was trying to say. 

"Maxwell does not need a babysitter, Yuy." Wufei was sipping tea near the window, a thoughtful expression on his face. 

"And you are willing to chance that the other occupants of the room might?" 

Wufei clicked his tongue in exasperation. "Point. Valid Point. I, too, will come then." 

Quatre stood up and put on his shoes. "Coming, Trowa?" 

"Well, since I don't relish staying here alone right now, I suppose I will, for a little while." Trowa fetched his jacket from his own room and rejoined the rest just in time. 

The bathroom door opened to reveal a flush faced Duo, steam billowing out of the bathroom behind him. Heero grunted, looking at his watch. "Fourteen minutes, thirty-eight seconds." He glanced at Wufei, and made his way to the door, motioning Duo in front of him. "Told you so." All Duo could do was look on in confusion as Heero walked out of the door with a smirk on his face. 

Standing in the lift on the way down, Duo began to fidget. He had an overriding curiosity to see what the other arrivals were like. He wanted to know where they came from, what their backgrounds were, and what their reasons were for wanting to join the Preventers. Along with those thoughts came the realization that he was analyzing his fellow students. 

The doors bleeped open, interrupting Duo's thoughts. The five young men stepped out of the elevator, their eyes sweeping the corridor automatically, assessing, calculating and categorizing. The previously empty rec room was now occupied. A wave of tension crashed over the five of them, as they studied their surroundings. Exits were noted, and each detail of the room that could be seen through the glass walls was taken in and filed for quick access. 

Duo suppressed a sigh at the edginess he could feel in himself and the others. Crowds were never comfortable, and Duo hadn't realized that all of the day's arrivals would be gathered in the one building. Although, once he thought about it, it made sense. He grinned predatorily and led the way inside, he always loved a good challenge. 

Eyes looked up as they entered the room and Duo slipped back into his easy, lazy grin. His eyes latched on to a couple of men that he recognized. One of them, Davies - if Duo had heard the name correctly - raised a hand in greeting. Duo simply grinned back and ushered the others to one of the pool tables in the back corner. It was relatively private when compared with the rest of the room. He knew that if the proximity and the unknown circumstances were grating on him, it would be ten times worse for Heero at the very least. 

"How about we play some pool?" His voice was the cocky, confident voice he used a lot of the time. The one he used when his mind was working overtime, making sure that all the possible escape routes were open to him. Idly, Duo wondered if he would ever be able to stop those thought processes that had become a part of him. He seriously doubted it. 

Quatre smiled. "Pool? There are five of us. Uneven teams are no fun." 

Trowa shook his head. "One of us can take a break and…watch…while the others two teams of two, play." Another collective lowering of tension ran through them. It was a good suggestion. One of them watching should take away any unnecessary need for precautions. 

"So, pool it is?" Duo smirked and grabbed the cues from the wall, tossing one to each comrade in turn. "Team up, toss to break. You sink it, you stick with it. Eight ball last. Two shot, white sink. Two shots if you sink the opponent's ball. Two shot, no clip, and two shots if you hit the black first! I think that about covers it. I'll stand first watch." He cringed as the last words left his mouth, but he didn't think anyone else was close enough to hear him. And he knew that it didn't bother his comrades in the least, in fact, it made them more comfortable. 

He watched Quatre break. The blond was actually quite good. Duo's concentration intensified. Although he watched the game, he also paid attention to every little movement around him. Noting just how far away from the other students they were, just what those other students were doing. He watched the game with detached interest. Saw Trowa line up and take a couple of shots, before Wufei did the same for his team. Then Heero took his place at the table. 

With amazing speed and deadly accuracy, Heero proceeded to sink the remaining four smalls, followed by the black. He straightened and twisted to crack his back once. Trowa raised an eyebrow, following Heero's movements, and looked over the Japanese youth's head to direct the look at Duo. Duo just shrugged. 

They played for a while, and Duo lost track of time. It was getting boring, and that was largely due to Heero's tendency to sink every single ball once he stepped up to the table to take a shot. Duo was on Heero's team once again, when he started the same routine over. Exasperation made Duo a little less wary than usual, and he clucked his tongue with exasperation. 

"Heero Yuy!" That got Duo some blue-eyed attention, tempered by a glare from the Japanese youth. "You're taking all the fun out of this." 

Heero looked a little baffled. "Fun?" 

"Yes, fun. This is a game. It's not a hard game, but it's supposed to take longer than five minutes to play a round." Duo held his cue loosely in his hand, idly swinging it back and forth. 

"It's not much of a game then. The solutions are relatively simple in their…" 

Duo didn't let him get any further. "I don't give a flying fuck if the solutions are relatively simple, Yuy. It. Is. A. Game. You're not supposed to calculate the precise impact point to achieve the sink. Not every god damned time. You're not supposed to ricochet them off each other with the perfect symmetry required to get them to sink with one shot. It's doable, and hell yes, you could probably go pro with tricks like that. But loosen up, man!" Duo's glare didn't lessen, once he'd finished. It darkened, as if trying to prove a point. 

Heero was visibly trying to relax, but his entire body was so taut that it would've been obvious to anyone. 

Everything might have gone smoothly had Quatre not been too focused on the fluctuating emotions of his comrades. As it was, however, their pool playing had attracted a small crowd, and the argument had attracted a larger one. Although the bodies weren't quite invading their space, the voice that spoke, breaking the silence, was far too close for comfort. 

"Are you guys looking for more competition?" The voice was friendly enough and probably not expecting the reaction it got. 

Trowa braced himself, cue swung up under on arm, ready to use. Wufei sank down to the floor, cue ready to sweep out any legs that might come too near him. Quatre crouched, one hand on his upright cue to steady himself, while the other reached for the knife in his chest sheath. Duo's arm swung the cue in a mockery of the way Deathscythe had swung his scythe. That didn't make it look any less lethal. Heero spun in the direction of the voice, snapping the cue in his hand in two, he took one piece in each hand, hefting them to get a better grip. 

It was reflex, analytical and predatory; it was a type of deadly dance. Music beat softly through the room, easily heard now that no one spoke a word. Seconds ticked as Duo reevaluated their situation. 

He slid out of his stance smoothly and laughed a little sheepishly. "Sorry about that. We're a little on edge. Trust me, time spent with Une can do that to you." He winked at the other students, and a murmur of nervous laughter ran through the bunch. Seeing the others relax marginally from their positions, Duo turned laughed again. "Yeah, got us a little nervous right now. Didn't hear you come up. Reflexes will be reflexes, don't you know?" 

There was a brief silence, before one of the other students broke it. Hazel eyes focused on Duo, and the voice was thoughtful. "Yes, reflexes will do that to you." The man's expression was contemplative. "We didn't mean to startle you." 

Quatre stepped up to his comrade's side, lending support through his presence; a sense of familiarity. He modulated his voice as he chuckled deeply, its timbre reaching everyone in the room. "You didn't really startle us. We were just a little too preoccupied arguing with…" 

Another voice piped up, cutting Quatre off. "Aren't you a little young to be a student here?" 

Tension ran through the group of five once more and Duo could feel Heero's body still, ready for anything. Duo opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Trowa. 

"We're a lot older than we appear. There is more than one way to age." Green eyes surveyed the room, the silent challenge issued. 

The first man smiled tightly. "Yes, there are. Excuse our curiosity. We know each other, we were all on the same flight down here." His eyes scanned their faces, memorizing them. It made Duo nervous, made his fingers itch to shut the man up when he spoke. But he knew he couldn't do that, so he fought the urge… barely. 

Quatre smiled and a little of the anxiety level dropped. "I can imagine." He glanced at his watch, as if only just realizing that it might be late. The blond let out a very real looking yawn, before putting a hand in front of his mouth and grinning with embarrassment. "We've not stopped ourselves, since we got here yesterday." 

Duo watched the reactions of the other students. He could see the cogs of their brains whirring. Some of them were putting two and two together, some were already bored with the conversation and had wandered away, and others were glancing at them as if waiting for a fight. He grinned and pushed down the sudden desire to start that fight. Instead he interjected, his words flowing smoothly on the end of Quatre's. "We didn't mean to be here so long! But you know how it is, time flies when you're having fun and all that." He could feel Heero's eyes boring into his back, but it only edged him on. 

"Gotta run," he began to make his way to the door, relying on the others to follow him and Quatre to bring up the rear. They neared an exit, and the relief in their little group was almost palpable. On impulse, Duo turned and grinned back at the handful of students who were still watching them. The others filtered out the door before he opened his mouth again. "See you at the shooting range." He called to the room, winked and was gone. 

Duo's grin was feral as he joined the others in the lift. Heero's scowl only served to fuel the fire. The American was bored, restless, and in need for a good sparring match. Since a physical one was out of the question, he'd settle for a verbal spat. 

It started as soon as the apartment door closed behind them. 

"That was unnecessary, Duo." Heero's voice was cold, reproving. 

Duo quirked an eyebrow. "Unnecessary? What? Trying to get you guys to loosen up for once in your fucking lives?" The steely undertone to his words belied the mirth he coated them in. 

Wufei snorted. "Loosen up? You were just as tense as we were." 

"Only because _someone_ had to turn our pool game into Trajectory Theories 101!" His glare landed on Heero, daring the former Wing pilot to say something. 

"You said yourself, Duo. It _is_ a game." Heero's voice hadn't lost the cold edge. His eyes were expressionless, but his fists clenched at his sides as if controlling his temper. "I play to win. It's the way I am. If you don't know that by now, you haven't been paying attention." 

Duo took a step closer to Heero, purposefully invading the other pilot's personal space. His blood was beating wildly, adrenaline pumping through his veins, just itching for release. The words that fell from his lips, were barely audible "I've paid more attention than you give me credit for." Timing it perfectly, Duo pulled back before Heero's reflexes took over. He grinned once more. "See?" 

"Provocation won't get you what you want, Duo. Not with us. Stop it." Trowa's voice was laced with just enough subtle disdain that Duo was momentarily taken aback. 

Violet eyes flashed. "How would you know what I want? You don't know me." 

"And if you carry on like this, we're all going to stop even remotely wanting to. Think about it." Trowa's door shut softly behind him, leaving Duo to scowl briefly at his retreat. 

"He didn't mean that, Duo." Quatre attempted to difuse the situation, but sighed when Duo directed fiery eyes at him. "Okay, maybe he did." 

"Thanks a bunch. No. Sure, just kick me while I'm down." 

"Oh, get off the melodramatic high horse, Duo!" Quatre sighed. "You're tired, you're restless and you're feeling insecure. Just like the rest of us. Stop trying to hide the fact." 

Duo gaped briefly, before closing his astonishment off with another grin. "Aww, shucks, Quatre. You found me out." He winked. "Whatever will I do now?" 

"Be serious for once in your life." 

Heero's retort didn't phase Duo one bit. He opened his mouth to prove just that when Wufei entered his personal space. Duo's body tensed involuntarily, and his smile became just that little bit more forced than before. 

"You have something to say, Chang?" 

The Chinese pilot managed to look down his nose, although Duo was of similar height. "You disappoint me. Quatre is right. We need to stick together in this, to know each other, trust each other, honour each other. Just as we did during the war. But this," He gestured vaguely around Duo's person, "is not the person I developed respect and trust for during the war. You are hiding him; you are withdrawing. If that is the way you choose to be, then so be it, but do not expect me to care. There is no honour in such behaviour." Wufei offered one more scathing look, and turned on his heel, closing his bedroom door behind him. 

Duo covered his shock the only way he knew how. "Great end to a fucking perfect day guys. Thanks. No, really. You _honour_ me." He made his way to the front door. "I'm going for a walk." It was directed to no one in particular, and at that point in time he didn't care. He slammed the door behind him and headed up to the roof, disregarding the two figures he'd left standing in the living room. 

It was colder than he'd anticipated it would be. The crisp cool winter air made him shiver, but Duo refused to go back downstairs. He needed to figure out just why he was reacting the way he was. If he wasn't careful, he would alienate the only other people who could really understand him. It was a daunting thought. 

With a sigh, he climbed onto the edge of the building and dangled his feet over the edge. The ten-story drop didn't bother him at all, in fact, it helped him run his thoughts through his head. If he stripped everything else away, he knew what was wrong. He wasn't just annoyed that they had had their lives commandeered, or that they were herded like sheep and expected to obey. No, when it got right down to it, Duo had to admit to being a little apprehensive. Not scared! Never scared! Just…apprehensive. 

"Who are you kidding?" He breathed, watching the mist of the words dance on the cool night air. And that was just it. He wasn't trying to disrespect the others, he was trying to convince himself that he didn't need to run, that there was no use to hide. It was time for him to face up to becoming the adult in actuality that he had been in spirit for a good many years. The only thing was: he didn't want to grow up. His mind rebelled against the fact, shouting that he was seventeen years old and he deserved to have a chance at being normal. 

"Don't we all." He somehow felt better, occasionally voicing his thoughts. Another sigh, another swing of his legs, and another brief analysis of the building's construction. They all deserved a childhood, but it was one thing he knew they'd never have. 

Duo stood up, leaning precariously over the edge for just a second, remembering the rush of being in his Gundam, of being in control. He stepped down from the ledge. Control was always just an illusion, a manipulation. Duo scowled and scuffed the toe of his right boot as he walked. He didn't like being controlled, and he grinned at the thought of giving someone else the illusion of it. But the thought fled as soon as it had come. 

By the time he stood outside the apartment door he'd come to a rather rueful conclusion. The others didn't deserve to have him take his frustrations out on them. No…he smiled at the thought… he'd reserve that privilege for the staff. Control was one thing, making it easy was another. 

Resolve firmly in place, he was in a good mood as he unlocked the door and walked in. The mood vanished when he saw who was waiting for him. He really didn't feel like one of Heero's lectures right then. But when his… friend looked up, Duo was taken aback. 

Those blue eyes contained emotion, and it stopped Duo in his tracks when Heero spoke. "Duo… I…" Heero looked to be floundering, and all of a sudden Duo felt weary. He couldn't deal with it right then. 

"Don't." Duo's voice came out sharper than intended, but he didn't regret them, not even at the slightly confused look in Heero's eyes. 

"I…just…" Heero was struggling for words. "I'm… didn't." 

Duo took pity on him. "No, Heero. I know what you want to say, and you don't need to. Believe me…for once… I actually don't want to talk… about anything." He flashed the Japanese youth a sad smile before walking into his bedroom and shutting the door, leaving the other a little perplexed and alone in the living room. As Duo threw himself on his bed, he couldn't help but think that Heero wasn't the only one feeling that way. 

Duo couldn't sleep, or at least not sleep well. As the first waves of light began to crest the horizon, he decided that it was time to venture out. He felt the need to be more aware than usual of his surroundings. There was something about the whole set of circumstances that was bothering him, and it was annoying him. 

It was that luminescent dark outside when he reached the roof again, cup of tea in hand. He took a moment to appreciate the view. The campus was actually quite attractive. It encompassed an entire block, and while buildings ringed the perimeter, the inside contained gardens. The early morning rays hit the greenery, glinting off it with deceptive tranquility. 

Duo's eyes narrowed. His instincts screamed at him, to get out, to run, to hide. Just like he'd always done, just like he'd thought he would always do. He ran a hand through his bangs before letting it drop to his side in frustration. The thing was, he didn't want to run or hide. Not anymore. He'd done it for so many of his seventeen years that he'd had enough. All of a sudden, Duo felt old, a lot older than his physical age. He hugged his arms to his chest, mug precariously balanced. 

Reds were tingeing the horizon, announcing the sun's imminent arrival. Duo sighed, his morning ritual held little appeal. He felt like doing something different. His mind made up, he grinned before heading down to the apartment to dispose of his mug. Once there, he grabbed a jacket from his bedroom and headed silently down to the street below. 

#*# 

Heero watched the rise outside his window. He hadn't slept well, no matter what he'd tried. This new set of circumstances made him restless. He half expected his laptop to spring back into action and send him on missions, but he knew it was an impossibility. The only thing was, he wasn't sure whether or not that thought frightened him or made him feel safe. 

He'd been given orders for most of his life, and at every show of rebellion his training had been reinforced. At least until he had been sent out in Wing. Interaction with other operatives, even being his own age, had enabled him to think for himself. Extended periods of time where he could do nothing _but_ think for himself, due to the unavailability of the doctors, had allowed his ability to deal with things on his own to develop. 

The current set of circumstances riled him. Although it allowed him to fall back into the familiar territory of having someone decide what he was to do, it infringed upon his newly won independence. That was something that Heero had come to prize in the short time that he'd had it. 

Heero scowled at the golden waves of light dancing through the window. He didn't like being told what to do anymore; he liked to be able to think for himself. And while he knew how easy it would be to fall back into the pattern of obeying, it was a part of himself that he refused to reinstate. That was a part he wanted to leave behind. 

They'd fought for peace for everyone else, and at the same time Heero had managed to win himself a little peace inside as well. He'd be damned if he let them take away the person he was becoming. They were going to find things a lot more difficult than they anticipated, because Heero refused to give up his hard won humanity… not for anything ever again. 

Satisfied with his decision, Heero decided to go and take a shower. He smiled as the water began to rain down. 

#*# 

Wufei scowled at the small size of his sleeping quarters. There was barely enough room in there for him to stretch properly, let alone perform some of his more advanced maneuvers. Maybe that was a little harsh, but he would have preferred more space. The fact that there was more space if he went out into the living room did not sway his decision. Although he had meant every word he said the previous night, he did admit to have being been a little blunt. 

Not that he was ever not blunt. Wufei knew his people skills weren't the best. They had never been required to be the best, or good or even marginally okay. It wasn't a part of his upbringing, not a part of his training and if he was honest with himself, it wasn't even a part of his personality. 

It had never hindered him before, but he had also never had comrades as… close as this before. As much as he didn't say it often, Wufei respected his four fellow Gundam pilots. They'd all been through an amazing amount of crap together. Well, not always together. He didn't really like to think about his misjudgment concerning the Mariemaia incident. In the end, when it came down to it, he'd seen his mistake and rectified what he could. 

And he knew he had Heero to thank for that, and the rest of them. Without the blink of an eye they'd accepted his reasoning, his confusion and his decisions, and not said a word when they took him back into their fold. Not said a word about him being weak. It made him almost believe that he wasn't. 

He'd already thought of the Preventers as a probable escape, but he hadn't expected it to be like this. Escape? He let the word roll around on his tongue. Escape implied he was running away, but he never ran. It wasn't his style. Wufei preferred to face his opponents and defeat them on mutual turf. He wasn't weak, he didn't need to be told what to do, and he could think for himself. 

That was why the whole situation grated on him. There was no way he would let a group of other people decide what was best for him and how he should grow up. He'd been making those decisions for himself for longer than he cared to remember. Mind set firmly in place, he decided it was time for a shower. 

Wufei refused to be weak, and he'd be damned if he'd let anyone else put him in that position. 

#*# 

Quatre rubbed his eyes as the sun rudely woke him up. He knew he'd forgotten something the previous day: darker curtains. His head felt a little dull, but considering the thoughts running through it from the previous evening, he wasn't really surprised. 

Wandering over to the window, he looked out at the earthen sunrise. The colonies would never be able to recreate that same glow. An artificial sun would never replace the real thing. He heard the shower start up and smiled. Awake and alert, that's what they all were. 

Quatre sighed, and wondered if he would ever be able to sleep in, if he'd ever be more than a light sleeper. He wondered if he'd ever be able to just ignore people and the things that affected them. Try as he might, he'd never been able to manage it yet. Every time he decided to keep himself distant from other people and what they were feeling, his resolve lasted only as long as he didn't have any contact with people. 

He cared too much and he knew it. Not just about the people he knew, but also about the people he'd never known or only just met. It was a part of him, something he was slowly coming to accept. And it was part of him that he felt was about to be exploited. As much as he twisted it, he could only see outcomes that eventually hurt other people, including himself. 

Was it right to use him like that? To use any of them like that? It was those sorts of questions that made the blond frown. He refused to be used; refused to be cast aside the way they had been in the wars when it became too politically dangerous to be seen to support them. They had fought so hard, lost so much, and sacrificed their childhoods. 

Quatre steeled himself, determination etched itself into his soul. The five of them had been as much victims of the war and circumstances as anyone else. In some cases perhaps more. He refused to allow them to be punished for that, and he vowed to somehow make sure they weren't. 

#*# 

Trowa stared at the ceiling. It was an interesting ceiling, if you liked to count the tiny bumps in it. The finish of it was that rough-looking paint job that he was sure had a name, but which he couldn't recall right then. He sighed and swung himself into a sitting position. 

Usually he prided himself on possessing amazing amounts of patience, but the previous night had seen him lose that handle. The events of the evening had strained his nerves, and while he knew that it wasn't immediately obvious; it had unsettled him. He hadn't realized how difficult it was to turn off years of ingrained reactions, or how difficult it would continue to be. 

He frowned. It didn't wash well with him that this government had deemed it necessary to control them. That's what it felt like to him, anyway. They could disguise it in as many well-meaning little phrases as they liked. It didn't change the heart of the matter. The five ex-Gundam pilots were going to be… controlled. 

Trowa liked people to underestimate him. They often did. Although he didn't think that Une would be one to do so, he also knew that she would have her own agenda for being … dragged into the position she was in. Make no mistake, Trowa knew that any of the former major players in the wars… had been given a similar deal. Call it a hunch, but he was certain of it. 

He wondered idly if they realized what they were doing. All five of them didn't take too kindly to having their lives commandeered. Each of them had their own perceptions of how they wanted their life to continue. Something nagged at the back of Trowa's mind, telling him to watch out for himself and for the others. It was a voice he had no intention of ignoring, considering how much his perceptions had helped him in the past. 

Trowa stood, a little stiffly and stretched. The showers were both running, the sun had cleared the horizon. He was curious about the day. A day without war was still a novelty for him. Trowa smiled and wondered if those people knew just how much all five of them detested being controlled. He couldn't wait to find out. 

#*# 

"Morning, Quatre." Trowa greeted the blond before sinking down onto the couch with a book. Silence was all that answered the green-eyed youth, and it was only moments before he put down his book and walked into the kitchen area to see what Quatre was doing. His curiosity was piqued. "What are you doing?" 

"Hmmm?" Quatre stood staring at the stove, hands on his hips. 

Trowa moved closer, until he felt Quatre tense with the involuntary acknowledgment of his presence. "It doesn't bite." 

"I know that." There was a smile in Quatre's voice that had a slight apprehensive edge. Trowa took a step back, and watched the blond visibly relax, before continuing to speak. "I'm just… thinking." 

Trowa relaxed his stance and waited, knowing that he didn't need to ask what Quatre was thinking about, since the other would tell him when he was ready. Meanwhile he surveyed the kitchen and had the sudden urge to add something personal to it, things that would make it theirs. 

Quatre's voice broke the reverie. "It can't be all that hard. Can it, Trowa?" he spoke softly, wistfully, yet with a determination that might just be able to make his words come true. 

"What can't be?" 

The blond turned around to face the other pilot, stretching his arms to either side to vaguely indicate the rest of the room. "This. Being normal, learning to be the people we're supposed to grow up to be. Oh, growing up, damn this. We deserve more than this. Damn them. I won't let them do this. I won't let them replace one form of control with another." His voice had risen somewhat, and his fists came to rest, clenched, at his sides. 

"None of us will let that happen, Quatre." Trowa uncrossed his arms and moved over to the fridge. 

"Letting it happen isn't even an option." Heero stood just outside the kitchen area, wet hair falling in its usual disarray. "We need our bearings first though." 

Trowa picked up the stream of thought. "We need to stick together. We've done it before. We can do it again." 

Quatre smiled with something akin to relief. "I know. I just…I'm used to being in control of planning things out. I don't like someone trying to plan my life for me." 

Wufei walked in catching the tail end of the conversation, and headed to the fridge for something to drink. "I don't think one of us even remotely likes that idea Quatre." 

Trowa sighed, moving away to let Wufei rummage through the contents of the ice-box. He spoke softly, tone almost introspective. "And I bet Duo likes it the least." 

Heero turned sharply to face the green-eyed youth. "What did you say?" 

"I said: Duo probably likes it the least." 

"What would bring you to that conclusion?" Heero's eyes bored into his comrade, not relenting in the slightest. Every piece of information was stored and referenced. Old habits die hard. 

Trowa shrugged. "A lot of things really. We all had some direction in our training, in our lives as we became what we are. Even I did, in the mercenary camps." His tone was distanced, separating himself from the memories of his experiences. "Duo, from what I know, or have been able to gather, had very little of any of that. He's survived on his own, learnt what he has through sheer will power, and always come out on top despite the odds against him. I can understand that this could perhaps be a little more confining for him. He was always free, able to do what he wanted, even with his Gundam to a certain extent. This must be tearing him up." 

The expression on Heero's face barely changed, but it definitely became thoughtful. "That…possibility has merit." 

Quatre looked a little pale. "I didn't even think…" 

"None of us did, Quatre." Trowa interjected softly. 

Wufei straightened from his inspection of the fridge, and spoke with a tinge of regret in his voice. "I don't think many of us have been able to think very clearly over the past few weeks. At least, not well anyway." 

Heero opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by the opening of the apartment door, a rustling of what sounded like paper bags, followed by that same door being slammed shut. The whirlwind that was Duo Maxwell blew into the room, arms full of paper bakery bags, face flushed red from the chill outside, violet eyes flashing with his grin. 

He stopped short at the sight of the four others in the kitchen. "Oh. I wasn't sure if you'd be awake yet, you know? I wanted to surprise you, so I hope you haven't eaten yet or anything because that'd be a real shame and well." He grinned as he spoke, and held out his arms. "See. I bought us breakfast!" 

#*# 

Chapter Six 


	6. Reconnaisance

Author: Arithion/Arithkenshin  
  
Email: arithkenshin@yahoo.co.uk  
  
Title: Delusions of Normalcy  
  
Rating: R  
  
Warnings: Continuation, language, introspective mild Angst,  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them; I don't get any money from this... just a time- sink  
  
Set: End of GW  
  
Summary: "If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix."  
  
Notes: If you wish to Archive, please ask. Thanks to CYT and Sol for betaing. Thanks to Casey and Mal for letting me bounce, and Makoto for letting me rant. This chapter wouldn't have gotten done, if I didn't have my sounding boards. Heaps of thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter: Wild Child, Enna, Misanagi, Shadows, Dulin, Karina, Kagi, Merellia, Asuka, Rurouni Triv, Merith and Raven. Makes it a little easier to write the next chapter!  
  
Delusions of Normalcy:  
  
Reconnaissance  
  
Duo kept his smile fixed on his face, reaching his eyes. He'd never been one to apologise and he wasn't about to start now, but he didn't want the apartment to be full of a tension that he'd been the main cause of. So he waited, momentarily stemming his flow of chatter, trying to hide his expectation as he began to deposit the paper bags on the table.  
  
"I know we haven't had much luck trying to make food for ourselves or anything more complex than sandwiches, so I thought I'd pick up some stuff for us to..." his voice trailed off as he felt a presence closer to him.  
  
"Here, let me help." Quatre's voice was soft enough that Duo managed to fight his automatic reflexes and remain calm. The underlying tension lingered between them. It was constant, a silent reminder to them of just how much more comfortable they were around each other, as opposed to outsiders. Together they unpacked the contents, Duo's running commentary momentarily silenced.  
  
He looked up as Wufei placed some plates on the table, and smiled. "Hey, Chang. Sleep well?"  
  
Wufei looked at the American, onyx eyes intense. "I slept sufficiently, though it could have been better."  
  
Duo barely managed to suppress his slight intake of breath, and his eyes wandered, almost involuntarily, to lock with Wufei's. The apologies that would never pass their lips, were silently spoken and accepted. Duo looked away, a small smile playing on his lips. Five glasses were placed on the table, and he looked up to see Trowa regarding him with the same intensity Wufei had. Duo let his smile become a grin. "So you haven't cut it off."  
  
Trowa's expression softened slightly, and the corners of his mouth lifted into a semblance of a smile. "No, I resisted the heretical impulse after all." The tension eased a little more, and Duo felt his shoulders relaxing further.  
  
Butter knives appeared at the corner of Duo's vision, and he looked up to see Heero standing next to the table, arms crossed. Duo resisted the urge to take a step back, and instead squared his shoulders, letting his grin spread.  
  
Heero inclined his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You didn't recharge your batteries?"  
  
Duo laughed. "Seems I forgot, but that's ok. I'm recharging them right now." He winked at Heero before returning to dividing the breakfast amongst the five plates.  
  
The mood in the kitchen was lighter than it had been. They carried the food into the living room and placed it on the table. Every movement was calculated, each aware of where the others were and what they were doing. None of them touched another without first seeking permission. It made the tension in the room drop to a more comfortable level... almost a companionable one. At least, it was comfortable for the five former Gundam Pilots. Breakfast was eaten in the usual manner, the disagreement of the night before dealt with in the same manner with which they dealt with all things.  
  
#*#  
  
Heero stood at the window. He realised that he found the spot rather comfortable. It offered an excellent vantage point, even though the bottom of the building he was in was obscured from his view. He would look into setting up some more efficient surveillance equipment. His shopping trip the day before had afforded him with some essential items he'd always had on hand before. He was satisfied enough with the outlook he had at the moment, yet that didn't stop him from frowning down at the scene below with distinct annoyance.  
  
A presence emerged behind him, just enough to let him know that someone was there. In the space of a heartbeat he classified the presence; softer than usual, more hesitant, if it could be called that, and he immediately accounted for each pilots whereabouts. Duo was in the shower, Chang was in his room, conceivably, it could be Trowa. The breathing patterns gave the rest away, and in the split second it had taken Heero to recognise the presence behind him, his defences lowered, giving the signal for Quatre to speak.  
  
"Arrivals, Heero?" Quatre's voice was soft, as he drew abreast of Heero, physical distance the constant. The blond looked out the window too, hands held behind his back. "It is the day for it, after all." He ran a hand through his silky hair, but it fell in the same soft way, with the same flow as it did time after time.  
  
Heero catalogued the movement, storing it as the norm. It made it easier for him to breath, made it easier for him to watch the scene below. He didn't need to answer Quatre, the blond didn't find it necessary, and so Heero chose to simply keep a silent vigil with the other pilot. The whole situation made Heero uncomfortable. People, /civilians/ ... were beginning to mill around the base of the building. He scowled, shifting his position, sensing Quatre tense and widen the gap between them.  
  
Quatre's deeper breath was audible to Heero, and he could feel the blond adjusting his own stance, his own inclinations. It didn't surprise Heero when the other pilot spoke again.  
  
"Do you think they're soldiers too?" There was hope in that voice.  
  
Heero closed his eyes briefly before replying. "No. If they were soldiers, veterans of the wars, they would not be cadets. They would be amongst the agents already acquired." He tore his gaze from below and looked at Quatre thoughtfully. "Why do you ask?"  
  
The voice that answered was clear, calm and confident, the voice that demanded and received respect. It was the Quatre that wasn't immediately obvious to outsiders. It almost made Heero smile.  
  
"I ask, because then I might not have to take their responses to my reactions into consideration all the time. Because they would be fully capable of taking care of themselves." He raised a hand to the glass, stopping just short of touching it. "Those people down there still need protection. Though I wish it wasn't necessary to protect others from myself, I realise it is necessary." His hand fell from the glass, and he turned to look at Heero, cerulean eyes serious. "You do realise what they say is true? We have a responsibility not to harm innocents. Although I may not like this situation they have placed us in, I'll endure it as long as is needed, for me to learn the control I need in order to take part in society." He paused, shoulders sagging in partial defeat, though the tension remained, and looked down at the arrivals once more. His voice had softened when he spoke again. "After all, there isn't anywhere else for us to go..."  
  
Heero watched as Quatre turned abruptly and left the room, closing his bedroom door behind him. Melancholy, Heero's brain supplied. Quatre was acting distinctly melancholy. The Japanese youth shrugged, storing the information away to peruse later. For the time being he had other things more immediately on his mind. His attention focused once more on the people hauling luggage and belongings out of the vehicles below. Heero scowled again, his annoyance returning tenfold.  
  
"You know if the wind changes, your face will be stuck like that." Duo stood in front of the bathroom door, twisting his hair in a towel. He ignored Heero's glare, and sauntered smoothly into the room. His eyes darted around, taking stock of Trowa, who was standing in the kitchen, and the barely audible sounds coming from both Wufei and Quatre's bedrooms. Duo's shoulders relaxed, and he threw himself down on the couch, hands twisting the towel constantly in order to wring the excess water from his hair.  
  
"What's playing, Heero?"  
  
Heero wrenched his eyes away from the window and turned a questioning look on Duo. "Playing?"  
  
Duo motioned his head in the direction of the window, hands still working diligently. "Outside. You're watching it like it's a movie, like there's something excellent going on down there. Am I missing something?"  
  
Heero shrugged and turned back to the window. "Depends on what you mean by missing."  
  
Duo stood up, securing the towel behind him, letting it soak up the rest of the moisture from his hair. He moved over to stand next to Heero, mindful not to touch the Wing pilot. Duo watched Heero's eyes tracking every movement below, and smiled. All he felt was adrenaline. It was a new challenge, a new set of circumstances, new tangents coming into play. Duo smiled.  
  
"What are you smiling at?" Heero's voice sounded impatient.  
  
Duo pointed at the activity below them. "That, them. This could prove interesting."  
  
A door opened softly behind them, from it's direction, obviously Wufei's. "Interesting, Maxwell?"  
  
Duo smiled again, but knew that Wufei couldn't see him. "Yes, Chang. Interesting."  
  
"Interesting or challenging?" The Chinese youth made his way over to the window, stopping short of them and crossing his arms.  
  
Violet eyes shone with amusement. "Both." Duo turned away and headed to his room, to finish getting dressed from the shower.  
  
Wufei allowed himself a small smile as he watched American go.  
  
In his room, Duo wrung out his hair one final time before discarding the towel. It was very nearly dry, dry enough that brushing it wouldn't harm it. He wandered over to the window, brush in hand, and looked out of it as he absently brushed his hair. There were some days when he almost wanted to cut it, but it had been a part of him for so long that it just wouldn't feel right. It would almost be like betraying himself.  
  
He remained at the window after he had finished brushing and braiding his hair. The braid was tighter than usual, but for some reason it felt better right then. His eyes followed the movements below, and he smiled. Yes, things were going to get very interesting.  
  
Duo was startled out of his contemplations by a knock on their apartment door. He moved quickly, and was out of the room in time to see Heero flick on the screen he'd attached to the kitchen wall.  
  
The chocolate-haired teen's shoulders lost their tension. "Une," was all he said. The anxiety level in the room dropped markedly.  
  
Quatre approached the door, while Duo flopped himself onto the lounge with a scowl on his face. He felt a little sullen and moody. "This is ridiculous, we're just getting a visitor, it doesn't need to be a level five clearance incident for us."  
  
Trowa snorted. "It's not, Duo. Stop exaggerating."  
  
Duo grinned up at the taller youth. "Damn. You caught me out. How do you do it, Trowa?"  
  
Green-eyes shone, and Trowa raised an eyebrow. "Talent, Duo. Pure talent."  
  
Une walked into the main area to find Duo laughing loudly, and Trowa chuckling.  
  
"To what do we owe this /pleasure/, Une." Wufei went straight to the heart of the matter.  
  
The Director simply shot Wufei a look before speaking. "I came to bring you your other packages. They're outside the door, I had someone help me up with them."  
  
Trowa leaned back against the wall and focused his eyes on her. "Don't you have subordinates to carry out deliveries? Or has so much changed?"  
  
Une ignored the implications in Trowa's baited questions. "I thought it better to be the one to deliver them personally. I didn't want you to... overreact to someone you didn't know."  
  
"We knew who it was before we opened the door, Une. You should have known that we won't let ourselves be at a disadvantage." Heero grunted and sat himself down on the other end of the couch, keeping enough space between himself and Duo, so as to avoid touching.  
  
She sighed and nodded. "I expected as much." Her eyes followed Quatre as the blond moved into the room laden with packages. He deposited them on the lounge, apparently not caring that Duo and Heero were sitting on it. Duo shouted indignantly, while Heero just removed himself from his former seat.  
  
Quatre grinned at the two. "Just wanted to thank you for helping me carry them in."  
  
Duo grumbled and tore at the package with his name on it. It was soft and rather bulky, so he wasn't too sure what was inside. The contents fell out and he gaped, holding one of the items up. It was a shirt... a white polo shirt to be exact with a preventers logo embroidered where the chest would be on the left hand side. He blinked, and slowly laid it to one side before picking out the next four, which were exactly the same.  
  
Paper rustled all around the room, but no one spoke, so Duo bit his tongue, for the time being. Next he pulled out a pair of slacks. Deep, green slacks, and he scowled, liking it less and less by the minute. Another two pairs followed. By now there were only a few things left in the package. The first that he pulled out were two white t-shirts, followed by two pair of training pants, which were green... again. The final item in his package was a jacket, which he pulled out and scowled at. Preventers uniforms were black, with khaki, and the emblem. Apparently cadets wore green with khaki.  
  
Duo wasn't impressed. He scowled and his voice was low and angry when it came out. "No." Une looked at Duo, eyebrows raised. "What was that, Duo?"  
  
Violet eyes flashed in her direction. "I said: /No/. There was never any damn mention of any fucking uniform."  
  
Trowa leaned back against the wall, his package at his feet. "I actually don't mind them."  
  
"That's because you're used to wearing whatever you want." Duo snapped. "I'm used to wearing whatever I have! And I've worn them for years now...It's...oh, you wouldn't understand." Duo stood up, his uniform falling to the ground.  
  
Quatre approached him, stopping short, noting the tension in his comrades frame. "It's habit, isn't it? It's routine, safe?"  
  
All the steam went out of Duo, and his shoulders sagged. He absently rubbed his nose and looked at Quatre ruefully. "Yeah...guess that's not really necessary anymore."  
  
The blond smiled. "Apparently not, but it still makes us feel better."  
  
Duo smiled. "Yeah."  
  
Une suppressed a sigh of relief before speaking. "Those uniforms should fit you, they are made to your measurements. You will need to go and get fitted for shoes tomorrow morning before class at the latest. These are not all the uniforms you will get. You are entitled to more, especially more than one jacket, since you are expected to wear that on an almost constant basis over your shirts. However this will do you for the first week, and you can see to your own supplies during that." She paused, looking around. Heero was still eyeing his pile of clothing with slight distaste. Duo was pointedly ignoring his, although Quatre had picked them off the floor and deposited them on the couch. Trowa and Wufei were difficult to read, although Une was fairly certain they would comply simply because it was necessary. "There'll also only be token classes for the first week, in order to orientate students properly and give you the material you will need to work on the following week. However I still expect you to keep your appointments. Any questions?"  
  
Duo started to shake his head, but then thought better of it. "Those arrivals that have started coming in...they'll be flowing through all day?"  
  
Une nodded in response.  
  
Duo grinned. "Interesting... I think I might take a walk." He stood up and stretched his legs. "Anyone want to come with me?"  
  
Quatre smiled. "Actually, I could do with a little fresh air. Besides, I'm curious."  
  
The American laughed and crossed his arms. "Excellent. Anyone else?"  
  
Heero simply stood up and nodded. Wufei reappeared from his bedroom, having gone to get his jacket once Duo had asked. Trowa shrugged and headed to his bedroom to do the same.  
  
"Well, I guess that's all set then! Want to come for a walk with us, Une?" Duo smirked. "Could be some fun, I'm a little curious about your newly enrolled cadets down there." He winked at her.  
  
Une sighed. "Duo. Need I remind you to behave?"  
  
"No point, but you can if it makes you feel better." Duo didn't bother to grab a jacket for himself, he rarely needed one. "Well, we're going now. So it's probably best if you go too." He ushered her out of the door in front of them and headed to the elevator.  
  
They rode the elevator in silence; the tension palpable. Duo was so tightly wound he almost bounced on his toes. He knew there would very probably be people waiting at the bottom to get in and ride to whatever floor they had been assigned to. Quickly, he pulled Une to the forefront, grinning at her, and stepped behind her to join the others. "Just call it quick thinking, Une." He knew she would understand.  
  
Duo was right. When the doors opened, there were three bag-laden people waiting to get into the lift. Although they parted well enough to let the occupants pass, Duo could see the strain in the way Heero held himself, and knew that to a lesser extent, he himself was just as bad. They all were. Une led them to the exit doors, and left them there after looking back to receive a tight nod from Heero.  
  
They stood at the side of the steps and watched the commotion from their vantage point. Their formation was loose, yet effective. The semi-circle allowed each of them to have an overview of a different section, and thereby not leave anything unobserved. At the same time, they looked like five teenagers lounging around on the steps. It was effective, perhaps too effective.  
  
A man approached them, probably in his mid 20's. They took in his appearance, from his physical status to the way he distributed his weight when he walked, to the way his eyes remained fixated on each of them in turn.  
  
Quatre stepped forward slightly, taking the brunt of that concentration on himself. Although the rest didn't relax much, it was noticeable. Duo watched his blond comrade, noting the slow, deliberate breathes and the hands that clenched each other behind his back and he knew. He knew that Quatre was doing that, just because he could. Because he had dealt with people the most.  
  
The man came to stop about two meters in front of Quatre, and to Duo's eyes, the Arabian visibly tensed. Their visitor spoke in a grating, almost irritating voice. "This is no place for kids."  
  
Quatre smiled. "We're meant to be here. Sorry for the misunderstanding, but we are students here. Our classes start tomorrow."  
  
The man looked at Quatre for a moment, as if trying to decide what to do. Duo had to admit that Quatre looked his seventeen years and not a day older, and although he had begun to fill out in the last month or so, it didn't seem to be enough to convince the man that he was telling the truth. "Seriously, kid. Clear out before we call your parents."  
  
~Uh-oh~ Duo thought, but grinned. He was looking forward to this.  
  
Quatre's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms, drawing himself up to his full height. "That would be difficult. My parents are both dead, as are all of ours. If you wish to call them, then by all means, go right ahead. You're a more talented man than I am if you can. On the other hand, I did not lie. We are students here, and if you have a problem with that, then I suggest you take it up with Une."  
  
The man's face reddened slightly and he opened his mouth to retort when one of the guys from the previous night came up and slapped him on the shoulder. "Hey, Storck. If you're asking these guys about the pool skills they displayed last night, you have to get in line." Blue eyes turned to look at the five youths standing at the side. "Hi, I'm Jason, Jason Harvey. We didn't get a chance to say hello last night."  
  
Quatre nodded and smiled, opening his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Duo's bright voice. "I'm Duo. Talking is my hobby. Well actually, amongst other things, but I can't mention some of those, you know." He winked, before gesturing to the blond. "This is Quatre. Don't get yourself into discussions with this guy. He'll always win." Quatre laughed and Duo continued. "The Chinese guy over there is Wufei. Don't worry, his bark is worse than his bite." Wufei scowled, but Duo ignored him. "Trowa is the tall guy over there. He has hair issues, but we're currently getting him help for that. And the last guy, is Heero. He's a little... well... he's Heero." Duo laughed at his own joke, all the while making sure that the distance between himself and the others was not further confined. He could see the others still taking stock of their surroundings, and relaxed a little.  
  
Jason smiled. "Well, this jerk is Storck. Mathew Storck, we went to high school together, but he's come from a police officer background, whereas I have a Criminal Justice degree."  
  
Duo was immediately on guard. His experience with law enforcement so far had never been good, and it almost clouded him to the fact that he would soon become law enforcement himself. He ripped himself out of his reaction to listen to Jason more carefully.  
  
The blue eyed man was still speaking, oblivious to the thoughts running through Duo's head. "So, yeah. We're on the 8th floor in this building. How about you guys?"  
  
"Tenth." Duo grinned.  
  
"All of you?" Jason seemed a little taken aback at Duo's nod. "And you all know each other already?"  
  
"In a manner of speaking." Heero had spoken, his eyes still surveying the entire commotion they were in the middle of. He was feeling decidedly uncomfortable.  
  
"You're lucky." Jason was unperturbed. "So, no offence, but you look really young. Prodigies of some sort?"  
  
Trowa chuckled. "You could say that too."  
  
Jason's face fell a little, but he barrelled on, determined to get to know a little about the five teenagers that had somehow made it into the preventers cadets. "So, how old are you, if you don't mind my asking."  
  
Trowa's eyes narrowed and he pushed himself away from the wall, a silent sign that he was restless and wanting to move. The other four formed up loosely around him. "Age isn't always relevant. But I can tell you that we feel a hell of a lot older than we are."  
  
Wufei was the last to turn to leave and paused. "Excuse us. We have a few things to do before tomorrow." He bowed his head slightly, before following his comrades.  
  
They wove their way through the crowd, nimbly dodging the other students and their luggage. Skilfully keeping distance between each other. Their movements took each other into account, as well as the others around them. Eyes swept the area constantly, involuntarily taking in the details and storing them for later use, should the need arise.  
  
When they reached the other side of the crowd, they visibly relaxed and turned around to observe them from that vantage point.  
  
Heero leaned against a tree on the outskirts of the greenery. His eyes scanned the area, relieved when he couldn't see anyone else approaching them. "The next time we even see someone else approach us, we run. Understood?"  
  
He received three nods in response and one level look from Quatre. "Heero, we need to get used to being a part of society instead of on the run from it."  
  
"I know this. But not today, Quatre. My control is frayed enough for one day."  
  
The blond nodded. "For today, I agree. Today we employ Duo's catchphrase, we run and hide."  
  
Duo laughed. "See, I knew I'd rub off on you all."  
  
#*#  
  
"I told you it wouldn't be too hard." Duo chattered as they emerged from the uniform shop, having had a shoe fitting. "She said the shoes should be in in time to be sent over for tomorrow morning. So, we can start these stupid classes, completely in uniform." Duo punched a fist in the air and mock cheered. The others just looked at him.  
  
"Oh, come on guys, I can't hear you."  
  
"Shut up, Duo." Quatre's smile took the sting out of the words. They turned and made their way back across the compound. The blond looked down at the ground beneath him and sighed. "You know, grass makes things seem rather peaceful."  
  
Trowa looked over at him, thoughtfully. "It is peaceful, Quatre."  
  
"I know. It just seems so far-fetched. I keep waiting for it to break."  
  
"It won't." Trowa's voice held unshakable certainty.  
  
"But it has before!" Quatre kicked his foot against the soft ground. "It has before, what's to say it won't again?"  
  
Although the question was largely rhetorical, Duo felt the need to answer it anyway. "It won't happen again, because they're more organised this time and not as delusional. I know that I, for one, refuse to let anyone destroy what we've all fought for. I'm pretty sure I can count on all of you to help me in that. So, really, there isn't a need to worry anymore, Quatre."  
  
Quatre smiled. "I know...just sometimes... I doubt."  
  
He didn't need to say anything else, they all knew exactly what he meant. They all felt exactly the same way. It was strange for them, to walk in an open area and not feel threatened. Cautionary habits died hard, but they fought them consciously when they realised they were reacting.  
  
The silence was comfortable, each aware of the other, their pace and their surroundings. Each trusting the other to get their back should danger approach. They drew closer to their building until they stood beneath it, staring up at it from behind. The crowd outside the building had dwindled to a trickle, but still, avoiding it would be easier, it just depended on how.  
  
Duo grinned, glad that the sun was behind him as he looked up at their floor. "Steel frame, concrete foundation and pillars. Exterior is stucco, for insulation." Heero nodded. "Standard then."  
  
"Relatively."  
  
Trowa flexed his hands, cracking a few knuckles, and began to stretch his arms. He grinned tightly up at the wall, and knew that he was doing exactly what the others were. Sizing the building and its surface up. There were windows, quite a few. It would definitely make it easier. "Grips?"  
  
Duo's smile widened, as he watched the others limbering up, and he answered Trowa's question smugly. "Enough for me, not sure about you."  
  
"Don't get so cocky, Duo." Trowa's eyes narrowed in concentration.  
  
Quatre laughed. "I can't believe we're even contemplating this."  
  
Wufei raised an eyebrow as he removed his jacket, tying it around his waist. "We're still young. We need to keep fit, or we'll go to waste."  
  
"Plausable logic." Heero knelt to tuck his laces into his shoes, before standing with his hands on his hips, studying the building. "Row of windows each?"  
  
"I'll take the bathroom ones." Duo's statement brooked no argument. It was, after all, his idea. He'd take the smaller windows.  
  
"Rules?" Quatre's shirt was rolled up, clipped there to give him more room to move.  
  
"Only one." Duo grinned. "Don't fall. First one to the top wins." His adrenaline started to pump.  
  
Quatre laughed. "We are going to be so damn sore tomorrow."  
  
Trowa grinned. "It'll be worth every strain."  
  
"So true." Even Wufei was fired up.  
  
They crouched, ready to push off. Heero looked to either side of him. Duo was on his left, Quatre, Trowa and Wufei on the other side. He grinned tightly. "On three..."  
  
"Two..."  
  
"One..."  
  
All five of them sprinted to the base of their building.  
  
The first stage of the climb was a little difficult... they needed to jump high enough to gain a handhold above the glass walls of the rec room, and haul themselves up. Muscles burning, adrenaline pumping, they gave no consideration to anyone who might see them. This wasn't about stealth, it wasn't about training, it was about doing something because they wanted to, because they could.  
  
They reached their first windows simultaneously. Exertion made them sweat as they made their way up to the next window. The sweat made their grips less sure, giving them that extra edge of danger. It was what they were used to, what they thrived on, and they revelled in it.  
  
All five of them were still on level when they reached the third window. By then the sweat was running down them, and each stopped at that window to briefly try and rub their hands dry.  
  
Trowa took a slight jump, barely grabbing a hold of what he wanted to, feet finding purchase on the top of the window ledge below him. Duo moved almost immediately after him, the move mimicked. Heero was a split second behind the American, in a dead heat with Quatre. Wufei's jump of was timed before Heero's but he lost his purchase above the window and had to start again. He cursed in Chinese, before regaining his hold and hauling himself up.  
  
They reached the fourth window within seconds of each other. None of them paid any attention to whether or not people were in the rooms they were scaling past. Duo laughed, the tentative hold on sanity, momentarily escaping him, and he almost lost his balance. It only made him laugh harder. He was a split second behind Trowa again on the ascent to the fifth.  
  
Heero and Quatre weren't too far behind, and Wufei had almost recovered the ground he'd lost. It was always going to be a close race. All of them had unusual upper body strength from having flown their Gundam's. No upper body strength meant no control. And no control in a beast like that, meant death.  
  
The fifth set of windows was reached without incident. All five of them stopped briefly, catching a little breath, but no longer than a few seconds. More than that and their pulse would start to slow. Being caught outside the fifth floor, not able to move, wasn't on the to do list of any of them.  
  
Trowa and Duo led the way yet again, followed closely by the other three. A thief and an acrobat were always going to have an advantage over other people, no matter how much upper body strength they possessed. They reached the sixth window, neck in neck, having put a little more distance between them and the others.  
  
Quatre and Heero reached the sixth floor together, a split second ahead of Wufei. Duo was about to make his jump to continue the climb when he heard Quatre's exclamation.  
  
"Kharba!" The curse cut across the air like a knife. Quatre, hung from the bottom of the window sill by one hand, and Duo heard the clatter of something hard hit the ground below them.  
  
"Quatre?"  
  
Suddenly it didn't seem like a game. Duo didn't want to lose anyone of his comrades. The war was over.  
  
"I'm fine! Stupid ..." Quatre's breath was heaving. "...concrete windowsill... Had a crack..." Quatre now had a second hand on the sill, and slowly regained his footing before hauling himself back up. He rubbed his hands, neglecting the grazes on his fingers. "Well, keep going. I don't like winning if you /let/ me."  
  
Duo laughed and yelled. "Fat chance, Quatre!" He jumped to catch his hold and hauled himself up, balancing precariously. His muscles were already screaming in protest and he knew there'd be all hell to pay tomorrow, but he didn't care. It was something he could control, something he had chosen to do, and it was something he could do.  
  
After the seventh window, Duo refused to look back to see how he was going. His competitiveness kicked in, and all he wanted to do was reach the top first. It was still fun, but he liked to win; he liked to be the best. He reached their bathroom window and adrenaline kicked in tenfold knowing that the roof was but metres away.  
  
His hands finally gripped the ledge of the roof, and he hauled himself up, muscles complaining. He finally got one knee up and twisted to sit on the edge, looking down at the others, only to see that Trowa was doing exactly the same thing. Duo grinned. "A tie. Damn. We need a rematch."  
  
By that time, the others had reached the summit, and Heero hauled himself up with ease and twisted to sit, legs hanging over the edge. "Rematch. Definitely. There's no way you're beating me next time. Either of you."  
  
Duo laughed, his pulse slowing and the adrenaline seeping out of his body. He knew he had to move before he started to seize up, so he stood up and jumped off the ledge, onto the roof. "We should probably stretch if we want to prevent the worst of it. Besides, it's getting dark."  
  
The rest of them simply nodded in response and followed Duo downstairs, after he had picked the lock to the door. "Gotta keep in practice, you know." He winked before going inside.  
  
Once in the apartment, they each began to stretch. Their fingers were scraped, some of their clothing worse for wear, but overall, the climb had done them a world of good.  
  
Heero finished first and sat on the arm of the lounge. "So, where do we start?"  
  
Duo sighed and walked into the kitchen to grab a soda before draping himself over the back of the couch. "I'll start at the top. We can work backwards. That lock up there, is too easy. I can pick it with a simple pick in no time flat. It's ridiculous and not safe at all."  
  
Heero nodded, adding to his mental notes. It didn't even come into consideration that an intruder would need to reach the roof before the lock came into question. "Then?"  
  
Quatre sighed, stretching his legs out in front of him on the floor. "The climb was too easy. Apart from the crumbling ledge, which I do not think was a brilliant strategy to keep out intruders, it was relatively simple."  
  
Another nod from Heero, another addition mentally notated.  
  
Wufei shifted on the far couch, legs drawn up to his chest, still stretching. "I don't like the fact that we don't know when someone is about to knock on the door."  
  
Heero looked at him. "I was thinking that too. I'll figure something out."  
  
Duo spoke through a yawn, "Trip laser...beam... whatever you wanna call it."  
  
The Japanese youth nodded. "Exactly. Won't be too hard to rig. Next?"  
  
Trowa leaned against the kitchen divider, arms crossed. "Those cadets aren't any threat. Not really. Nothing any of us couldn't handle. The only thing I see as being a problem is our age. We've seen one example of disbelief. I don't doubt there will be others." He shrugged. "I know we don't mind, but it's going to get tiresome clearing that up all the time."  
  
Heero nodded and Duo looked up from where he'd buried his head in the couch. The American spoke around yet another yawn. "I get the feeling that not everyone is going to appreciate us being here."  
  
Quatre stretched himself completely out on the floor, already able to feel a sample of what his muscles would act like tomorrow. "The ones that were watching us were suspicious. We're obviously a lot younger than them. Whether they feel threatened by us or not, we'll find out eventually. They don't know who we are yet. It was a good idea to introduce us with first names only, Duo. I almost gave myself away."  
  
Wufei moved stiffly, standing to stretch once more. "You make it sound like we're on the run."  
  
Trowa shrugged. "No, we're being cautious. We don't know how people are going to react. Remember not everyone is going to love us. We killed thousands of people. Some of /them/ are going to have relatives."  
  
Heero glared at Trowa. "There is no need to remind us of what we've done, Trowa."  
  
The green eyed youth shrugged again. "We fought in a war. It's what happens there. There are people out there, people we will have to deal with, people we will be attending classes with, who will paint it in a much more brutal light than I have."  
  
"I know. We had no choice...there was no choice." Heero stood up, stretching his legs one last time.  
  
Quatre's voice was barely audible, but its strength made them all feel better. "I know that... we know that. Keep that inside yourself and don't let go of it, Heero. We did what we had to do, and if the circumstances were the same, we'd do it again. No one owes us anything. But we can be safe in the knowledge that without us, everything would have been much much worse." Quatre stood up, suppressing a groan as his muscles protested. "I'm going to soak in a bath. And not one of you is going to stop me."  
  
Duo chuckled softly. "I'm going to bed. I hardly slept last night. Wake me for dinner."  
  
Trowa watched his comrades... no, his friends, though he wouldn't say that to them yet, go their separate ways. That feeling was still niggling at the back of his mind. There was something they weren't being told, something they didn't know and he frowned. He needed to be alone, because if there was one thing Trowa hated... it was being a puppet.  
  
~~**~~ Kharba = Shit in Arabic  
  
Hope you liked the chapter, tell me what you think!  
  
~Arith 


	7. Tedium

Author: Arithion/Arithkenshin Email: arithkenshin@yahoo.co.uk Title: Delusions of Normalcy Rated: R Warnings: Continuation, language, mild introspective Angst Disclaimer: I don't own them, I don't get any money for this... just a time sink Set: End of GW Summary: If you use a tool in the wrong way, you can end up breaking more than you fix."  
  
Noted: Thanks to Sol for the beta, and the War Room for LOTS of things lol and hugs to Makoto Thanks to Deidre, Enna, Neko Freak, Karina, Dulin, Anne, Amanda, Misanagi, Kage, Morgan, Ame, Cecilia, Asuka, Raven, Rurouni Triv, Merith and Wild child for all the feedback last chapter! Apology: I have had an international visitor staying with me for almost the last three weeks, so I haven't really been able to get my chapters out as fast as I would have liked. They should start to pick up again by next week. Thanks for your patience and sticking with me  
  
Delusions of Normalcy:  
  
Tedium  
  
Duo rose early the next morning, just as the sun was rising, intent on finishing his exercises before the others woke. His muscles protested mildly due to the work out they'd received the previous night, but he ignored them. Anticipation made him tingle as he pulled on his old faithful clothes once more, just for his workout. He quickly made his tea and quietly let himself out of the unit, closing the door softly before turning around to make his way up to the roof. There, he stopped in his tracks.  
  
Heero knelt on the ground, working with a small drill. His shoulders were tense, but he didn't look up from the intricate work when he spoke. "Morning, Duo." The question hung in the air, unspoken, but there nevertheless. Where are you going?  
  
Duo cricked his neck from side to side before speaking. "Checking out the view." He took a step closer to Heero, shielding the top of his mug as he peered at the handiwork in the wall. "How'd it go?"  
  
"Acceptable. It should do the trick. I just need to hook it up inside now." Heero stood up, brushing himself off, and eyed Duo, sniffing lightly. "Tea?"  
  
The American's face reddened only slightly, before he quipped in return. "Wufei's new one. Can't give him special treatment just because it's the first day of classes."  
  
Heero snorted and headed back into the unit without another word. Duo stood watching the closed door for a couple of moments, knowing Heero hadn't bought that reason at all. But Duo smiled and headed up to the roof. He hadn't lied after all. It was Wufei's new tea, and he would be pissed.  
  
Try as he might, Duo just couldn't concentrate. He could almost feel the hum of awakening activity in the building below him. It set him on edge and no amount of concentration was going to help soothe him. Eventually he gave up and headed back down stairs with his now empty mug.  
  
It was still early, but the others were already up. Heero was finishing off the trip laser he'd installed, and turned mildly curious eyes on the American as he walked in, before going back to his work. Duo nodded at the others, smiling, and washing his mug out in the kitchen.  
  
Wufei leaned against the sink, and tapped Duo on the shoulder, not phased in the least as the American ignored him. "No coffee this morning, Duo?"  
  
Duo was too busy focusing on calming his state of hyperactivity to pay the close attention to Wufei that he should have been. His shoulders were tense and all he wanted to do was bounce, fight, let out some of his pent up tension, and he answered vaguely. "Nope. Other stuff's better..." He rolled his shoulders, and missed Wufei's glare.  
  
"Things like tea?"  
  
"Ye...you gotta be kidding!" Duo turned a full-blown grin on Wufei. "Wow. Would you look at that. I have to go and get dressed." The American skilfully avoided the other youth and slipped into his bedroom, still trying to push away how wired he was.  
  
Wufei scowled at the closed door.  
  
Heero walked up to him, stopping short and cocking his head to one side, his arms crossed. "You shouldn't do that, Wufei." His voice was flat.  
  
Wufei raised an eyebrow, but the scowl remained. "Do what?"  
  
"Scowl."  
  
The Chinese youth bit back a sarcastic retort and snorted, his scowl still in place.  
  
Heero shrugged. "I just heard that if the wind changes, your face will stay that way." He turned and walked into his own room to finish getting ready, ignoring the look on Wufei's face. Heero allowed himself a small smile.  
  
A short while later all five of them stood in the living room of the apartment, each one of them dressed in a crisp pair of deep green slacks, a fresh white polo shirt neatly buttoned up, shiny black shoes laced with white socks to match, and the smart cadet version of the jacket. Each of them looked around at the others making sure that none of them had an advantage over the other.  
  
Duo broke the silence. "Fuck this." He almost ripped the jacket off, yanked the three polo shirt buttons open, and slung the jacket over his shoulder, hooking it with his finger. "This isn't a damned boarding school. I refuse to look like a fucktard."  
  
There was a brief silence in the room, but the impact of Duo's rebellion was undermined when Quatre started to laugh. "Oh, Duo." The blond was having trouble getting himself under control. "Seriously. I've been to boarding school." The laughing continued. "And you're so right. Fucktards. What an apt description." He reached up and undid one button, unzipped the jacket, rolled up the sleeves, and grinned at Duo.  
  
Trowa looked between the two, and sighed, a small smile playing at his lips. He muttered under his breath as he too made his uniform more comfortable. "United we stand..."  
  
Duo laughed and turned his attention towards Heero and Wufei. "...Divided we fall..." he finished the old saying. "Come on, you two. It's not that hard, honest."  
  
It didn't take Heero and Wufei long to make themselves more comfortable, either. Wufei slung the jacket around his waist and tied the arms at the front, while Heero rolled his jacket sleeves up and undid all his polo shirt buttons.  
  
Duo laughed once more, feeling a little better about the up and coming day. "We've got Networking first. I'll keep you awake if you promise not to let me snore."  
  
Quatre grinned. "Deal."  
  
"Then lets get going."  
  
It was only just after seven am, and classes didn't begin until eight. By some type of unspoken agreement, they'd wanted to leave earlier. It would give them a chance to secure a place well away from the other students in the lecture theatre, and make it less likely for them to run into crowds on the way over.  
  
Sure enough, they didn't meet one cadet on the way down or out of the building. It served to relax them, just that little bit. Not that their attention waned; they still felt eyes watching their every move.  
  
They arrived at the lecture theatre shortly before half past seven, and secured themselves a seat at the end of the back rows on the left-hand side. Wufei, Quatre and Trowa sat in the lower row, while Duo and Heero sat in the one behind them. It was a way for the five to keep everything in sight. They'd piled their jackets on the three seats to the right of them and on the seats in front of Wufei, Quatre and Trowa, to discourage anyone from sitting too close.  
  
Instead of sitting and talking like the other students did upon arrival, they watched at first. Eyes covered the entrance and exits, the theatre seating, and the way their fellow students moved, the things they brought with them.  
  
Duo frowned. "Why do they all have bags with them?" His voice was soft, his posture barely changed, and his eyes didn't miss a beat.  
  
Quatre was about to answer, but Wufei beat him to it. "Notes. They probably have materials to take notes with. Pen, Paper, laptops, palm pc's. General concept of studying, implies that taking notes is...efficient."  
  
"Oh," Duo fell silent for a moment. "Should we have brought something with us?"  
  
Heero's voice was barely audible when he spoke, his shoulders tense, eyes busy. "What subjects do we have today?"  
  
"Basics in: Networking, Theories of Espionage," Duo couldn't keep the derision from his voice when he mentioned the latter, "IT: Programming basics, theories of project analysis, and demolition for babies."  
  
Quatre snorted but Heero ignored it and moved on. "And you think you'll need to take notes?"  
  
Duo grinned. "In no way, shape, or form."  
  
"Then who cares? It's inefficient to burden yourself with unnecessary equipment." The statement was matter of fact, and Heero's eyes left his quarry for long enough to make his point to Duo.  
  
The American grinned. "Sometimes, Heero, I almost like the way you think."  
  
#*#  
  
Trowa's face registered no surprise when Une walked into the room, flanked by two men: Mathews and Gray. He knew she wasn't the lecturer scheduled for their first lecture, but being the first day of the first intake of preventer cadets, he thought they deserved a little ceremony.  
  
He could feel the tension in his comrades, almost hear their thoughts, and it made him smile slightly. The strain of anticipation, the mild hope that maybe there was an important reason for Une to be there, made the five youths lend her a little more attention than they might have otherwise. On another level he realised that the other students had barely paid attention to the entrance at all, which gave him pause. They were all older than he, shouldn't they have had more...well, more experience at this sort of thing? Wasn't it normal to notice people walking in or out of a room? Obviously not...  
  
Trowa watched Une and the men at the podium for a short while. He observed their hushed tones, and Une's obvious avoidance of speaking in his own direction. That almost made him smile, too; it was subtle, but it was something that screamed what sort of person she was. It wasn't every person who shielded herself from possible lip readers. Though it was far too much effort to do so, Trowa almost tried to get around it, just to spite her. It intrigued him. He wasn't very satisfied with their current predicament, and although he knew Une wasn't his enemy, he also trusted her about as far as he could throw her.  
  
He sighed softly, his disinterested gaze refuting any concern his comrades might have had. Trowa was bored already, and for some reason, he didn't think that was a good thing. In fact, he knew it wasn't. His fingers were itching to do something, and he found himself wanting to tap his foot. It might not have been obvious to anyone else, but all five of them were bored, and the day hadn't even started yet. He wondered how the other people in the hall did it. They were all speaking so animatedly, so carefree. Didn't they know a war had just finished? Didn't they realise that danger didn't disappear just because the war ended? Trowa frowned slightly, perplexed.  
  
There was a low buzz that rang through the room, and Trowa sighed in relief. It meant that things were about to start. He glanced around at the others. Duo had his feet up on the seat next to him, hands hooked behind his head, eyes wandering around the room. Heero sat with his arms crossed, a look of pure indifference on his face. Quatre's eyes were roaming the room, a finger absently drawing a constant circle on the knee of his pants. Wufei was staring straight at Une, as if he could make her go away if he looked hard enough. Trowa was content in knowing that each of the others, though they might show it in different ways, felt exactly the way he did about the situation.  
  
Une tapped the microphone abruptly and drew the attention of the rest of the students. She addressed the class in her usual brusque manner. "Now, this is your first day. This entire first week will be less of learning, and more orientation, with your teachers, the materials you'll need for the subjects and of course, with each other." Her eyes fell on the five Gundam pilots, and Trowa almost laughed. He knew exactly what she was implying: play nice. He shrugged almost imperceptibly, and she turned to look at the room once more, having gotten more of an answer than she hoped for. Trowa didn't mind playing nice for now, but he'd be his own judge of just what that entailed.  
  
"Although I am fairly sure you are all aware of what is in store for you, I will go over it quickly once more. For those of you with selective hearing, I suggest you pay attention." She gave another spot in the room a pointed look before continuing. "The first six months of this curriculum are basic introductory courses. No matter what your background, it is highly unlikely that you will have encountered many of the areas we will be covering, if indeed, any." Trowa smiled as Duo turned a derogatory expletive into a coughing fit. Une glared at him until it subsided. It had sounded something like bull shit, but Trowa couldn't be sure. Une carried on.  
  
"You will never be expected to have more than basic knowledge in all of these subjects, and therefore you are correct in assuming that basic is all they are. They are simply in order to give you a general idea of each area of prospective study. After six months you need to decide for yourself what area it is that you would like to focus on. In most cases you will need to choose two majors and two minors. I realise this is a lot, and yes, we hold you all to a high standard, or else you wouldn't be here. You all have backgrounds and qualifications that set you apart from others, and this should therefore, not be hard for you." She looked around the room briefly before moving on.  
  
"I, together with Doctor Arden Mathews and Mr. Malcolm Gray," each of the men nodded at the crowd as they were introduced, "comprise the senior section of staff at this point in time. Your teachers will also be available to guide you, and afford the same respect as we do. We have three years in total to spend together. I advise that you make the most of it."  
  
Une glanced at the men beside her for a second before focusing her attention back on the crowd. "As you are aware of, you are required at least once every two months to attend an interview with either myself, Mr. Gray, or Doctor Mathews about your progress so far Should you need to seek us out at any other times, there are contact hours in your handbooks." She nodded slightly at the men, and they nodded briefly before departing the room.  
  
"Next I need to address those subjects that, for your duration here, will be compulsory no matter what path you chose. One of those is piloting." She held up a hand, pre-empting the groans. "As a Preventer agent you are required to be able to drive any and every vehicle that exists. This includes, but is not limited to: cars, busses, trains, motorcycles, boats, space shuttles, and mobile suits."  
  
Trowa could feel his adrenaline rise, and a small smile spread over his face. He briefly looked at each of the other four, determining that they were having very similar thoughts. Piloting was probably one of the things he would have missed most. As it was, it appeared he didn't have to. This could prove very... interesting, especially considering the standard that the five of them represented. Trowa could practically sense the annoyance from the rest of the attendees already. What adult liked to be showed up by a teenager?  
  
"There will be some of you that are more advanced in these areas than others," Her eyes flickered briefly to the Gundam pilots, "and therefore classes will be divided as such. You will be taking this class throughout your studies, no matter how advanced or otherwise you may be. The same is required for Physical Training. This class will have sections devoted to gym work, martial arts, escape artistry," Trowa perked up at the latter, "fitness levels, and defence principles, amongst others."  
  
"The two areas I have just mentioned are compulsory. Failure in either will result in applications as full time Preventer Agents being rejected. As you can see, they shouldn't be taken lightly. The specialisations you choose will determine your roll in the Preventer organization. These specialisations need to be chosen by the first of June and discussed with either myself or Doctor Gray. We have the right to veto your choice based on valid reasons such as grades and your adaptability."  
  
"Uniforms are the last subject I will touch on. I realise it is somewhat unconventional, however you are Preventer cadets. You represent this organization whenever you are on campus. Should it be necessary, you are all aware that you can be called up for active duty. Although this will probably never happen, it also helps for you to already have uniforms. They are to be worn with care, and taken care of." She sent the pilots a slightly exasperated look, and Trowa fought with the urge to wink at her. "Consider them work uniforms if you must, but wear them. It's part and parcel with attending here." Her eyes flickered back to the pilots. "Are there any questions?"  
  
Trowa could see her silently asking them not to make a show, and he could feel how much it was costing Duo to comply. It made him chuckle softly, and earned him a roll of the eyes from Duo. Trowa settled himself into a more comfortable position, watching the hands raise and Une answer the questions. It all felt so surreal; that they were here, in this position. Trowa had never really been to a school before. That didn't mean he didn't want to learn, it just meant that as a child in a mercenary troupe he'd never really had the time to learn anything more than basics. The rest of his abilities came from hands on experience.  
  
He frowned slightly, wondering just how much of this studying was going to be practical. It didn't sit well with him, this whole scenario. Sitting still and poring over books of theory wasn't usually his style, unless they covered subject matter that grabbed his attention. His mind was on automatic pilot, cataloguing movements, sounds, and dismissing them as the norm. He noticed both Mathew Storck and Jason Harvey were two of the students who felt the need to ask questions. It made him smile, that these people had obviously don't so little research before entering an agreement to attend the programme. Somehow it seemed woefully unprepared. Trowa's attention snapped back to Une when she tapped on the microphone once more.  
  
"Your classes for today, as I have mentioned before, will be introductions. The purpose is to introduce you to your teachers, allow you to ask any questions you might have, and to list the materials you will need. Therefore there will also be free sections in the day, simply because the full fifty minutes will not be taken up by a lecture. I ask that you conduct yourselves in a manner befitting future Preventers agents." Trowa couldn't help himself, he snorted softly, earning him a glare from Une, before she carried on. He shrugged once more before she looked away, as much of an apology as she was ever likely to get. She seemed content with that, or maybe, thought Trowa, she knew not to expect more.  
  
"At ten o'clock you will have Basics of Networking, at ten-thirty: Theories of Espionage," She ignored the snort this time, it came from Duo, Trowa had managed to control himself. "At eleven you will have IT: Programming basics. This will put you back on schedule for the day, and should give you an early lunch. Before I take my leave of you, I would like to remind those that have appointments this week, that these do not receive the lenient treatment that the rest of the week does. I'll take my leave of you now." She left the room.  
  
Noise broke out on a level that made it more difficult to keep track of what noises were normal and which weren't; more difficult being the operative word. It was still doable, although Trowa couldn't figure out why the other students felt the need to talk so much. Especially about such trivial matters as those he could hear when he listened closely. Trowa dismissed that line of thought and turned in his seat, as did Quatre and Wufei. The subtle reminder from Une that they would all be expected to attend their appointments was obviously grating on Duo.  
  
"I'm restless. Are we seriously expected to be able to sit like this for such extended periods of time? It's ridiculous!" Violet eyes showed agitation, and Duo's face wore a rare scowl.  
  
Wufei rolled his eyes and looked pointedly at Duo. "Need I remind you that none of us want to be here, Maxwell."  
  
Duo was obviously irritated, and he snapped back rather cruelly. "Well, you do. You'd volunteered if I remember correctly, Chang. Don't pretend to be as pissed off as we are."  
  
Wufei stood in his place and glared at Duo, his voice almost in a tight, low tone. "I may have volunteered originally, but that was as an agent. I did not volunteer for this. And I most certainly did not volunteer to have my freedom taken from me when we fought so hard to win that same thing for everyone else here. Do not belittle what any of us are going through, Maxwell. It makes not one of us feel any better about the situation."  
  
Duo sighed, eyes running through the whole room, determining the decided lack of interest from any other party in what they were talking about, before returning to look at Wufei, a slight hint of guilt showing before the usual spark returned. "I don't mean to belittle. It's just frustrating as hell, and I can't stand sitting still for so long. I'm so used to ... doing shit."  
  
Trowa stretched his neck, easing a slight crick in it. "We're all frustrated, Duo." He said quietly. "Let's just wait and see, give this a chance. You never know, maybe it'll surprise us."  
  
Duo snorted. "You don't believe that yourself, Trowa."  
  
Green eyes blinked impassively, shoulders shrugged with indifference. "What I believe or don't believe is irrelevant, Duo. The possibility still remains that we could, in all probability, be surprised. They obviously have other things in store for us than they've let on." Trowa took in the almost imperceptible darkening of Duo's visage, but didn't miss a beat in what he was saying. "It could be that their intentions aren't so dark after all. However, you are right. I don't believe that is the case either."  
  
Duo just nodded and stood. "I don't know about you guys, but I need to move, and I need to move now. I'm going for a walk, anyone want to come with me?" He tensed before anyone could answer and turned slightly to watch the bottom of the stairs that led up to them.  
  
The others turned to where Duo's attention was riveted. His arms were crossed and he was watching a group of five men walk up the steps. One of them could be recognised as Jason Harvey from the previous day. It immediately put each one of them on alert. In indiscernible ways, each of them changed their posture; more rigid, more alert, more ready to move at a split seconds notice, and all in the blink of an eye.  
  
They watched the men approach, and it was Jason who spoke first. "Hi there. Remember me?" The five nods he received obviously gave him enough guts to move on. "I guess I'll get introductions out of the way first." He grinned and began gesturing to the people around him. He singled out a man of medium build, brown eyes behind slimline glasses and a half smile. "This is Ian Davies, he had a computer science degree. Top of his class, Harvard." A blush spread over Ian's face but Jason was too busy moving on. "This is Evan Fields. He's actually come over here from England to be a part of this." The blond haired man looked bored. Next Jason indicated a brown haired man with startling green eyes to his other side. "Daniel Mathers, sleuth extraordinaire, with the choice between FBI and the Preventers." Jason chuckled at his own joke, while Daniel rolled his eyes. "Last but not least: Simon Short, who also hasn't told me much about himself, but I'm sure I'll find it out." Jason stopped a second and gestured to the Gundam pilots. "These are: Duo, Heero, Quatre, Wufei and... Trowa, if I remember correctly."  
  
Duo simply nodded absently, as did Heero. They were too busy memorising names, to match with the profiles of the students. It would never cross their minds not to do so. They'd researched the roll of students to be in attendance and done brief background checks, so nothing made them really nervous. It was just matter of being prepared. Had he not been so involved in his current thought processes, Duo might have laughed at the fact that Simon Short was so tall.  
  
Quatre, on the other hand, decided to take it upon himself to be polite, since the others were obviously preoccupied. He stood up and stepped around Wufei's seat, coming a little closer to the other men than he would have liked, but he didn't think that could be helped. Quatre smiled, putting in effort to seem as relaxed as possible. "Nice to meet you all. Might I ask what brings you over here? You were on the other side of the room." Quatre could have kicked himself. It probably wasn't normal to know where everyone was all of the time. He sighed softly, glad that Jason still seemed willing to step in and talk to them.  
  
"Well, I have a confession to make. There are some wild rumours floating around about you five."  
  
Quatre didn't let the smile leave his face as Jason spoke, but his body tensed, mind examining everything else in all the more detail. His voice was steady and light when he spoke. "Rumours?"  
  
Jason looked a little rueful. "Yeah. I don't... well..."  
  
The man with the brilliant green eyes stepped forward, and Quatre worked hard through his own tension and that he could feel emanating from the others, to put a name to the face. Daniel Mathers. That was it. The voice was excited when he spoke. "Did you actually do that yesterday afternoon?"  
  
Quatre looked at him blankly. "Do what?"  
  
"Scale the A building."  
  
Quatre laughed, his tension easing a fraction. "Oh, well. Yes, pretty much." A light blush coloured his cheeks, bringing back in full force just how young he looked. "I didn't realise people had seen us."  
  
Evan snorted derisively and Quatre got the distinct impression the man didn't like any of them even slightly. "A few people saw you. It was just so improbable that not many people believed."  
  
Quatre shrugged, feeling the challenge in the other man's words. "It's not improbable. The walls are stucco; there are windows that provide adequate rest possibilities. It's only impossible to those that can't do it. Improbabilities exist only in the mind." He smiled, but it wasn't his usual smile and Duo snapped out of his own contemplation in time to see it.  
  
The American stepped in with his usual ease. "Ah, yes. We could discuss the philosophies of probability and possibility all day. But personally, I really don't give a fuck about any of it. Anything is doable if you feel the need. We were bored yesterday." Duo shrugged. "Sorry, if it was annoying or something." He didn't sound in the least bit sorry, and knew it.  
  
Ian chuckled. "I wasn't annoyed. I just like people to know that I didn't see things. I wish I had upper body strength like that."  
  
Heero eyed the man. "It's not just upper body strength." He spoke as if someone were dragging the words from his throat.  
  
"There's a lot of flexibility involved as well." Trowa studied his fingernails, already bored with the conversation.  
  
Wufei just scowled at Evan. He didn't like the way that man looked at them. It was almost predatory. Had Wufei been anyone else, he would have classed the look as unnerving, but none of the pilots were easy to unnerve.  
  
"Timing. Timing counts too." Quatre chuckled. "Never know when the building will fall down around you."  
  
Duo laughed, tension easing a little. His brain switched back into automatic mode, categorising everyone once again, smoothly adjusting to the changes to seating accommodations and the stress levels in the room. "Timing is probably the one thing we need to work on."  
  
Jason eyed the five youths thoughtfully. "I have to admit to being insatiably curious. You can't be a day over twenty, if you've even hit eighteen. How did you get into this programme?"  
  
That put all five of them immediately on guard. Wufei spoke first. "We have connections. Our abilities enabled us to gain entrance through those connections. So here we are. Whether we want to be here or not, is something we'll find out over the course of time. Now, if you'll excuse us, we were in the middle of something."  
  
It was a brush off, a rather abrupt and impolite one, but the hint was taken. Jason simply smiled and said a cheery "See you later," before turning to leave. But it was obvious that one or two of the other students were not impressed at being dismissed so easily by someone so much younger.  
  
Wufei, however, really didn't care what other people thought. His attention had already left the departing men, dismissing them as no threat, and turned back to his own comrades. "Perhaps it was a little foolhardy of us to do what we did yesterday."  
  
Duo shrugged. "If we didn't do it yesterday, we would have had to do it soon anyway. So it's really no difference."  
  
Heero stood up, stretching his shoulders, eyes never resting from their constant vigilance. "I could have done it alone. There was no need for us all to do it."  
  
Duo raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Come off it, Heero. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. Besides, it was fun." He winked at Heero and smiled. "I still want to stretch my legs. So, who was coming with me?"  
  
Heero shrugged. "I'm already standing. I will."  
  
"Excellent. See you three soon." Duo turned, arms still crossed and walked down the stairs, trusting that Heero would stick close to him. He hugged the wall on the way down, and uncrossed his arms letting them fall loosely to his sides. They moved quickly and exited the lecture theatre. In the hall outside were relatively fewer people, and Duo headed to the soda machine in a far corner. Then he led the way to a window overlooking the grounds and wedged himself in the corner, his view enabling him to see anyone approaching them.  
  
Heero crossed his arms and leaned against the wall next to the American. "Why the walk, Duo?"  
  
Duo's laugh had an edge to it that Heero couldn't quite figure out. "You know me. Need to move, need to be doing something." He twirled the can idly in his hands. "It's just so...I hate having to do something I don't want to."  
  
Heero regarded Duo thoughtfully. "Is it that? Or is it that we're being forced to do something, and yet, at the same time, it doesn't feel forced because technically we aren't prisoners?"  
  
Duo smiled. "Exactly. We're not in chains, we aren't in a holding cell, we're not being tortured or having the fate of the world held over our heads... we're just told to attend like the good little children we are... or else." He finished his soda off and threw it in the nearest garbage bin with perfect aim. "Damn this, Heero." His voice was low, soft and angry. "I almost want to see what the 'or else' might be. Give me a challenge; let me do what I'm good at. They couldn't catch me if they tried, so why do I feel this stupid urge to grab what they're offering me?"  
  
Heero looked directly at Duo, his own eyes searching those of his comrade. "Maybe your reason is the same as mine." He waited for that to sink in before continuing, his voice pitched low. "I want a chance at something I've never had, consistency. A constant routine, constant surroundings and somewhere I can reliably give out as a permanent address. I don't know about you, Duo, but that's something I've never had. It's something I want. If I refuse this offer, and leave, although I know they will never catch me, I also know I'll technically be on the run. For once, I want the chance at peace. Just the chance, and that is what this is."  
  
Duo looked at Heero for a few minutes before nodding. "Valid point, my friend." He smiled. "Let's go back in side. I think I wanna give em hell."  
  
Heero snorted. "I'd be almost disappointed if you didn't want to."  
  
The American laughed, and slung an arm around Heero's shoulders, in what appeared to be a carefree move, but was far from it. A couple of years working together enabled him to do that sort of thing. But he couldn't do it for long without Heero's tension becoming obvious, and he withdrew his arm before they re-entered the lecture theatre.  
  
#*#  
  
They sat in a semi circle, after a fashion. Duo and Quatre lay on their backs, heads propped up by their jackets. Heero and Wufei sat on the ground, and Trowa leaned against the tree at their backs. There was no one around, the chill wind probably keeping them all indoors. The former pilots didn't feel it. Whether it was conditioning or they were just ignoring it wasn't really the point.  
  
Quatre watched the clouds in the sky, before sighing with exasperation. "This is so... boring."  
  
"It's only the first day. Give it a chance." Wufei's covered a yawn with his hand.  
  
"I know, but Duo and Heero still have to attend their interviews with Mathews and Une. I have this stupid hostage negotiations teacher to meet, the one that will be giving me private tutoring. Seriously... do they expect me to be able to talk someone down from that sort of thing?" Quatre propped himself up on one arm, blond strands fell into his eyes and he blew them away in exasperation.  
  
Wufei smiled tightly. "Very probably. Compassion can go a long way, Quatre. Don't underestimate yourself."  
  
The Arabian blinked, before smiling. "I'll try not to." He turned his attention back to watching the grounds, and the occasional cluster of students walking through them. "You know what irks me?" He asked no one in particular.  
  
Duo rose to the bait anyway. "Hell, I'll bite. I don't know, Quatre. What irks you?"  
  
Quatre smiled briefly before a small frown crease appeared between his eyes. "Actually, it doesn't irk me at all. It pisses me off." Now he had everyone's attention. His eyes cleared and there was a sheen of defiance there. "The thought that they can do this, no, that they think they can do this. We're people. We deserve this peace a damn sight more than a lot of other people do. And yet, they're still making us pay for it. I'm sick of paying for doing something I believed in. For doing something I believe I had no choice in. To top that off, how can they say we did something wrong, when they sit there and reap the benefits of what we put our lives on the line to achieve." He stopped, flopping back down to the ground and watching the clouds once more.  
  
"I don't like it any more than you do." Trowa left his tree and sat in the middle of the others. "For now, it's something we need to deal with. For now, it's a way for us to rest in the one place without having to worry about too much. So, for now, just go with it. It's not like you're in this alone, Quatre. None of us are."  
  
The blond smiled at Trowa before hauling himself up into a sitting position. "Well, when you put it that way." He stood up, brushing himself off and slung his jacket over his shoulders. "Well, come on then. Let's go feed ourselves to the lions."  
  
Duo hauled himself up laughingly. "Such a lovely visual, Quatre. I wonder if I should employ the age old adage, eat or be eaten." He snickered and shoved his hands in his pockets.  
  
Quatre groaned. "You give off even worse visuals. Don't blame me for those. Just remember everything you talk about, I want to know what's in store for me tomorrow in my appointments."  
  
The American mock saluted. "Yes, sir!"  
  
Quatre laughed and led the way back to the main complex, the others following in his wake. He knew they looked like five teenage boys enjoying a walk through the gardens, and he sighed, wishing that's all they were. Somehow that melancholy thought robbed him of his good mood.  
  
When they entered the building the sunlight was cut off, and shadows fell around them. Quatre glanced at the others, seeing the slight discomfort in their posture as well. When they were inside a building there was less room to move. It was confining, almost intimidating. He watched the others head off to their own appointments. Heero and Duo to Une and Mathews. Trowa and Wufei to one of their specialisations.  
  
Quatre's shoulders slumped a little. He wasn't looking forward to his own 'class'. In fact, right then, he wasn't looking forward to his life. It felt like anything but his own. He frowned in concentration. There had to be a way to change that.  
  
And if there was, he would find it.  
  
~~**~~  
  
NB: The lecture theatre's that I describe in here are taken from my own university experience. We had large halls with a lecturn in the middle down the front, a large semi-circular seating arrangement around it rising up with each level. There were desks on each level and chairs that attached to the desks, able to swing a little. There were also those that had the desk part attached to the arms... Sooo that's what I'm actually referring to when I say lecture theatre ;)  
  
Hope you liked it!  
  
~Arith 


End file.
